


Twisted

by K_K_TiBal



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst to Fluff, Djinni & Genies, Fake Dating, First Kiss, Light Angst, M/M, Magic-Users, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pining Katsuki Yuuri, Pining Victor Nikiforov, Sharing a Bed, Urban Fantasy, Wishes, Witch!Yuuri, a reimagined banquet scene, djinn victor nikiforov, katsudonbang2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 08:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10510455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_K_TiBal/pseuds/K_K_TiBal
Summary: Yuuri Katsuki is a very powerful witch, one of the best in his class at the University of Detroit, in fact. While most spells come relatively easy to him, the one thing that doesn’t is conjuration magic. In an upcoming exam, Yuuri and his classmates have to prove their competence by completing a simple conjuration spell and summoning a low-level demon - something that Yuuri still hasn’t been able to do. With a combination of stress and anxiety, Yuuri decides to practice the spell on his own and gets a bit more than he bargained for when, instead of an easily controllable creature, he accidentally summons an extremely powerful (and very naked) Djinn going by the name of Viktor. After offering him three wishes, Viktor drags Yuuri along for a night on the town full of pink cars, pole dancing, and some terms and conditions that Yuuri wasn’t exactly prepared for. As crazy as everything is, Yuuri finds himself realizing that as soon as he uses all three of his wishes, Viktor leaves - and Yuuri is getting more and more attached the the Djinn.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing for the Yuri!!! On ice fandom and it's been such a blast :)  
> Find me over at [thebloggerbloggerfun](http://thebloggerbloggerfun.tumblr.com)!
> 
> And a HUGE thank you to my artist: [bagyoborn](http://bagyoborn.tumblr.com)!!! Thank you for all the work you did :)

Yuuri’s eyelids drooped heavily as the monotonous voice of his Professor droned on, and on, and on, about the intricacies of arcane Elemental control. It was the one part of the next exam that he wasn’t too concerned about, seeing as he’d more or less mastered Elemental control by the time he was fifteen, so he figured he could risk dozing through this part of the review. But the conjuration section?

That was what made him anxious.

“Hey.”

Yuuri’s head shot up from where it had been slowly nodding downwards, as an elbow briefly dug into his ribs.

“ _Ow.”_

Yuuri blinked back to wakefulness and finally managed to focus on Phichit, who squinted at him with concern as the voice droned on.

“You were up late again, weren’t you?” he whispered, tilting his head to the side as the pencil in his hand continued to take notes.

Yuuri rubbed at his eyes and tried to stifle a yawn. “What gave it away?”

“The dark circles under your eyes, the yawning -” Phichit shrugged and jotted something down in his notebook, “- and the chanting until three in the morning last night.”

Yuuri winced, disappointed in himself for not realizing that he’d been keeping his roommate up with his own bad habits. Unfortunately, you could really only be so quiet with the spells before they lost meaning.

“Sorry,” he murmured back. “I’m just… really nervous for the exam.”

Phichit looked up from his notebook and smiled warmly at him. “Don’t worry so much. You’re easily one of the top three in the class right now! You’ll do fine.”

Yuuri shook his head adamantly. Just because he’d done well on a test in the past didn’t mean that he was going to do well on a future one. “I can’t get the conjuration spell right,” he whispered back, dejected. “I either mess up the wording or I don’t give it enough energy or I can’t sense the right plane fast enough.”

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes again. Last night he’d been _so close_ to successfully completing the spell, but he’d flubbed the wording of the last sentence just as the demon was about to be yanked from its plane of existence.  

“You’ll get it. You’re just overthinking it!” Phichit grinned as the bell rung loudly overhead, signaling the end of their lecture. “You can look over my notes, if you want.”

Yuuri yawned again. “Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on that later.” He managed a smile.

“Okay.” Phichit shoved all of his books in his bag as he spoke, “Oh, hey - Leo said that he’s having kind of a get-together tonight if you want to come? It won’t be like a _huge_ party or anything, just a few people. If you’re interested.”

Yuuri pursed his lips as he pretended to consider the offer. It wasn’t that he didn’t like anyone that he knew would be there, but the idea of being around more people than just one right now set him a little on edge and - frankly - sounded exhausting. Besides, he needed to try this spell at least one more time , and be successful at it, to put his mind at ease.

“Thanks, but no thanks, Phichit.” He smiled to ease the blow. “I’m probably just going to go to bed, you know? Catch up on that sleep I missed.”

“Ah, okay. No worries! I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” Phichit slung his bag over his shoulder and pulled out his phone. It was slim and sleek, a latest model. Yuuri allowed himself a moment of envy.

“See you tomorrow,” he nodded, and packed his own bag as his friend scurried off, fingers already flying over the phone’s screen.

Yuuri bit back another yawn as he left the room, determined to fool his body into thinking it was awake. One more try. One more try and he’d give it a break for a while.

He couldn’t let himself be the only one in class that couldn’t successfully summon a demon.

***

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

Yuuri closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the sigils that he’d drawn around the circle on the bedroom floor in front of him.

He’d had the circle painted on his floor now for over a week and a half, but so far it had remained completely empty - and not for a lack of trying; the dark smudges under his eyes were a testament to that. If he could perform the spell correctly, he should have been able to pluck a demon from its own plane of existence, center its position in the protected circle, and have it appear - safely trapped behind the lines.

That had yet to happen.

Luckily, he and his classmates were only required to summon a lesser demon, just to prove they had the basics of the spell down. Even if he somehow messed up badly enough to make it appear, but not contained in the circle, the most it could probably do is curse him with bad luck for a few days.

However, bad luck was still the last thing Yuuri needed - it already looked as though he was going to struggle in his exam. He couldn’t afford to mess this up, and make the possibility of failure into a certainty...

Yuuri shook his head, as though to shake off the thoughts spinning through it. So long as he made sure the demon was summoned within the circle, he’d be fine.

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

Yuuri opened his eyes one last time for a brief glance about his room, just to double-check that everything was in order. The candles that surrounded the circle had been lit, and - while not necessary components of the spell - helped him mentally get into right place. Their calm, soft light eased his worries a little.

He’d closed the blinds on his window, despite the sun having gone down ten minutes ago - it just felt right, somehow. He adjusted his glasses before resting his hands on either knee, sitting cross-legged, and closed his eyes again; he tried to relax, letting himself feel the ball of warm power inside of himself, and beginning to channel it into the spell.

He concentrated as he let the verbal component of the spell fall from his lips, strings of memorized chanting linking together to form a connection of power. He’d learned last night that if he thought about what he was saying too much, then it would cause him to forget the words and he’d have to start all over. Instead, he let his mind wander, focusing more on the connection to the hellish plane than the words, letting his muscle memory do most of the work.

He let his lips curl up into a small smile as he felt the now-familiar sense of lightheadedness that came with the thinning of the veil between two planes, and reached out with his mind, searching for any weak form of life.  

There were a few smaller shadows that he could sense around him, and he immediately reached out to entangle one of them with his words - but he was too sudden, and the creature’s presence vanished in a panic.

His words almost faltered at the failed capture, but there were still others he could apprehend. He tried to reach out more carefully, and deliberately.

Yuuri’s hands curled into fists against his folded legs, and sweat began to form on his brow as the other shadows scattered as suddenly as they had appeared, and it was becoming more difficult to maintain the spell.

He hadn’t ever seen shadows leave so quickly before.

Just as he was ready to give up again and resign himself to failure, he sensed another presence.

A different presence.

Yuuri frowned as he attempted to study the new creature - a bigger creature - that seemed to be slowly approaching him. It was definitely still a dark-life form of some sort, but not like the smaller shadows he’d just been dealing with. As it got closer, Yuuri could make it out better. It was moving gently, calmly. There was something about that movement…

It was the same kind of careful deliberation that Yuuri himself had been using a few moments before, to try to capture a shadow. Instead of Yuuri frightening the creature, it seemed more as though _it_ were afraid of frightening _him._

Somewhere in the back of his mind an alarm bell was ringing, warning him against whatever this creature was - but so far it hadn’t made any aggressive actions against him. Or at all, really. It was still, now, not even moving.

It was simply waiting.

Yuuri could feel the spell slipping as it began to feed off more and more of his energy. If he wanted to successfully complete the ritual, it was now or never, and this creature would have to do.

His chanting grew bolder and more concise as he wrapped his words around the dark-life entity in front of him, pinpointing it to the middle of the painted circle. Yuuri grinned, entangling the being without too much difficulty, and anchoring it to his own plane.

This was easy.

Perhaps, just a little… _too_ easy.

Yuuri clapped his hands together and severed the connection to the other realm with one final word. He sat there with his eyes closed, breathing heavily. The instant weight of tiredness that he felt was familiar, now, and his already-aching muscles shuddered under the new strain. His eyes felt burning dry, and his head throbbed. But -

He’d _done_ it. He’d managed to conjure a demon from another plane, and successfully tied it to this one, after nearly two weeks of attempts. Yuuri was glad he was still sitting down, or he might have fainted with the shock of it.

Peeking one eye open, Yuuri caught his first glimpse of his prisoner.

He was expecting to see some variant of a demon as he’d watched them appear in demonstrations, in class - a writhing gray creature, with glowing eyes and flashes of sharp teeth. Unable to hold a steady form, it should have been half shadow and the rest smoke, a twisting miasma.

Instead, Yuuri saw…. a human?

A _beautiful_ human.

A human with sparkling blue eyes and impossibly silver hair.

He was lounging on his side within the containments of the large protective circle, a couple of strands of hair falling beguilingly over his face, head propped up on one hand. He was tall, with long, elegant limbs. He was looking steadily back at Yuuri with an almost amused expression.

And he was completely and utterly nude.

 _It,_ Yuuri reminded himself. This could only be a being of evil, not a human.

“How awful,” the silver-haired creature said, a lazy little smile on its face. “It appears I’ve been caught.”

Yuuri’s insides felt as though they’d been frozen. Something was very, _very_ wrong. The demon was supposed to be small, shadowy… with barely enough power to appear visible on the mortal plane. _This_ creature was all too visible, in more ways than one. Yuuri swallowed, and tried not to look.

“You… you… wh-wha- how… wait. Who _are_ you?” Yuuri asked, only just barely able to form words through his haze of confusion and exhaustion. “You’re not a demon.”

Silver smiled at him with teeth that weren’t sharp, but felt like they should have been.

“Oh, Yuuri,” it said, and a shiver went up Yuuri’s spine. The creature knew his _name_ . “I promise you that not only am I a demon...” It slowly stood from its lounging position, towering above Yuuri where he sat on the floor, and tilted its head - looking down at the circle of protection painted on the floor with a mildly interested, unruffled expression. Its gaze flicked back to Yuuri. “... I am one of the _best_.”

It stepped outside of the circle, as though it had never existed. Yuuri gasped.

The creature winked.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuuri had heard of people’s lives flashing before their eyes when they stared death in the face - and while he didn’t quite have a montage of moments of his life like he’d seen in the movies, he did have a very distinct regret that he’d be leaving Phichit to do all of the dishes in the sink.

He’d studied countless amounts of demons in preparation for this test, everyone had, but in all of his reading he hadn’t come across one that had been known to be able to forcefully break out of a protective circle - let alone treat one like it wasn’t even  _ there _ . 

Yuuri swallowed as the creature stepped closer still,  still wearing the same pleasant smile that it’d had on since it winked. 

Yuuri willed himself to move, to stand up and run, or back up against the wall at least - but he remained frozen in place, legs crossed and fists tight, only able to stare up at the silver-haired creature. It loomed over him, tall and graceful and lethal, and smiling.

“I can sense your fear, Yuuri.” The creature crouched down in front of of him. “A healthy dose of fear is good. Keeps a person on their toes.”

Yuuri could feel his heart racing in his chest when the creature leaned near enough for him to feel its breath on his skin, causing every hair on his neck to raise. Its closeness was a heart attack waiting to happen.

“However, there’s no need for fear this time. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to help you.” The creature curled its lip upwards and tapped a finger against Yuuri’s chin. 

That was enough to shake him out of his daze. 

With a gasped-out yelp, Yuuri jolted backwards and slid across the floor until he hit the opposite wall, breathing heavily. The creature remained still, down on one knee, looking ever so slightly confused. Yuuri tried to make sense of what was happening. 

“Wh- who are you?” he demanded, though his voice was softer than he would have liked it to be. “How do you know my name?”

The creature’s smile had wilted only for a moment, before returning so quickly that Yuuri decided he’d probably imagined it. “I know the names of all of my masters, of course. It’s easy enough to pluck from your mind while it’s in an unfamiliar plane of existence. As for  _ my _ name -” The creature tapped its hand against its own chin as it stood back up again, “- you may call me... Viktor.”

Yuuri swallowed and cleared his throat. “That’s your name?

“That’s  _ a _ name.” Viktor said with a smirk. “Apologies for the inconvenience, but you and I both should know that names have power.”

Using the wall as a support, Yuuri slowly clambered back to his feet. He was relieved to see that this “Viktor” hadn’t made any moves to get closer to him. 

“Okay, what are you...”He paused, when something clicked in his brain. “Wait, did you say ‘master’?”

“Of course.” Viktor reached out a hand dramatically and shot Yuuri a bright grin. “That’s what happens when a human manages to painstakingly capture a Djinn.” The grin turned mischievous. “I am yours to command for the use of three wishes. You do know how Djinn work, don’t you?”

Yuuri’s jaw dropped as Viktor’s words connected together in his head. 

_ What? _

“I’m sorry, did you say... Djinn?” Yuuri managed after a moment. This had to be some sort of demonic trickery. He remembered reading once that many of the different types of demon thrived on confusion and chaos, and this was definitely right up both of those alleys. 

“Yes. Congratulations on your excellent hearing.” Viktor lowered its arm, and caressed its chin with long fingers as he looked around the room. “Let’s see. I assume you’ll ask for wealth. Maybe glory. Yes, I could do both of those…”

Yuuri waved his hands before he could hear anymore. “Hold on! I’m not - you’re a  _ demon _ . Not a Djinn. That spell could only have conjured a demon!”

He really hoped that he hadn’t messed the spell up that badly. He was going to be in  _ so  _ much trouble - but no.  _ No _ . This had to be some common demon, playing a trick.

And yet - it had so easily broken out of the circle - and Yuuri  _ knew  _ that he’d drawn it right, there had been no flaws in it. There was no way a common demon could have escaped it.

Viktor paused its examination of the room and turned back to Yuuri, an amused smile on its face - and Yuuri was once again reminded of how very naked it was, at the moment. 

“I am both. I wasn’t expecting a novice to be able capture me. I don’t usually work with amateurs. I must say, I’m a little disappointed.” Viktor shook its head regretfully - and even though he knew the urge was ridiculous, Yuuri felt the need to impress it; to make up for what he didn’t understand. 

“I’m not an amateur,” he said, with something that approached defiance from an oblique angle. “I know some things about Djinn. I know you grant wishes, three of them.”

“I told you that just now,” Viktor observed. Yuuri flushed.

“Well - I know that you can shape change.”

“Obvious,” Viktor sighed. “What would you like, bird?” Yuuri blinked, and there was a silver, long-necked bird in front of him. “Cat?” Viktor’s blue eyes were blinking out of a sleek, furred face. “Dog? Bear? Column of hellfire?”

“No!” Yuuri said hastily, before the last switch could burn a hole through his ceiling and floor. Viktor reappeared. It - fine,  _ he,  _ Yuuri allowed himself - looked smug.

“Good Djinn only appear in fairytales, I’m afraid,” he said.

Yuuri gasped and took a step back, as Viktor’s eyes gleamed red for a few moments - before fading back to the human blue.

“Now that we’ve established  _ me _ , let’s talk about  _ you _ .” Viktor folded his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head as he watched Yuuri intently. “You, and your wishes three. So tell me, Yuuri. What would you like?”

“What would I -?” Yuuri let out a little undignified yelp at how suddenly Viktor was in his personal space, the demon’s face a mere inches from his own. His back was pressed right against the wall, Viktor’s naked body leaning close. 

This near, Yuuri could feel the heat from him - not human heat, somehow, but hotter and drier, more intense. There was a tingling in Yuuri’s fingertips, like miniature electric shocks.

“Anything that you desire. Anything at all can be yours, now.” Viktor said in a soothing voice that trickled down Yuuri’s spine. He was smiling - not nicely, but alluringly. “Fame, fortune -” Viktor’s face got even closer as he placed his lips just beyond Yuuri’s ear. “- pleasure.”

Yuuri’s face grew hot as he felt panic start to form on the outskirts of his mind. 

He had to keep calm. 

He could do this. 

“What is it you want, Yuuri?”

“I, uh -” Yuuri stared up at the ceiling and back to the floor again - anywhere but at Viktor. “I mean…”

“Mmm?”

“I think… I want…”

“Yes?”

Yuuri closed his eyes.

“I think I kind of want you to put some clothes on.”

Yuuri only opened his eyes when he felt Viktor take a step backwards. He was frowning at Yuuri curiously. 

“Is this form not pleasing to you?” he asked, and sounded genuinely confused, casting his gaze down at his body. “That’s interesting. I suppose I could try a different one if you’d like, but that will take a few moments. I don’t normally -”

“No, no, no,” Yuuri said hurriedly, hoping that he hadn’t just offended a cosmic being. “The form is very plea- it’s fine. It’s fine. I just… would rather you weren’t... naked.”

“Ah, of course.” Viktor’s frown disappeared as he nodded in understanding. “I’d momentarily forgotten that humans feel the need to hide their skin. One moment.”

Yuuri watched in awe as Viktor closed his eyes and ran a hand gracefully up one arm and down his chest. Black, pink, and maroon fabric wove itself into existence from the tips of his fingers, and wrapped itself around his limbs as he hummed, until he was completely covered in an elegant looking tunic-like outfit that seemed very out of place in Yuuri’s room. 

“Better?” he asked, with a gesture towards himself. Yuuri swallowed.

This demon was going to kill him. 

He nodded slowly, feeling the beginnings of the panic attack begin to subside. He took a deep breath and glanced at the - now useless - protection circle on the ground. 

“So, how does this work, then?” Yuuri asked, regretful that he hadn’t done much research on Djinn in the past. Had he known that there was a possibility of grabbing one during a conjuring, he would have made sure he knew what he was dealing with. Things being how they were, however, he would have to improvise. 

“Simple enough.” Viktor walked over to Yuuri’s bed and tested it out a few times with his hand before sighing and sitting down. “You get two wishes, anything you want, and I fulfill them for you. Once you reach your limit, I get to be free of you and return to my plane of existence.”

Yuuri frowned. “Only two wishes? I thought I got three?”

“Normally, yes. But you wished for me to be clothed.” Viktor looked up and winked. 

Yuuri blanched. 

“I’m joking, Yuuri. Of course you get three. You have to have the intent to use the wish. You have to  _ mean  _ it.” Viktor chuckled to himself as he bounced on the bed a little. 

“Aren’t there… rules?” Yuuri asked hesitantly. He might not know much about Djinn but he recalled that they were tricky. 

Viktor shook his head. “Rules are only for the weak Djinn who have limitations.” Another wink. “And I do not.” 

So, not only was a Djinn sitting on Yuuri’s bed; he was an all-powerful Djinn, that was offering him whatever his heart desired. 

Three times, in fact. 

He only wished that he had some time to do research on Djinn, before making any decisions. He couldn’t completely erase from his mind the image of those red glowing eyes that Viktor had flashed him.  _ Good Djinn only appear in fairytales, I’m afraid.  _

Yuuri shuddered. If only he had some time to  _ read - _

“Is there a time limit?” Yuuri asked, realizing that he actually might be able to. 

Viktor shook his head, and turned to pull open the window blind above Yuuri’s bed. He didn’t have the best view, but he could still see some of the city lights in the darkness. 

“Feel free to take your time. I don’t mind spending some time in… this is America, isn’t it? It feels like America.”

Yuuri raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Yeah... Detroit, actually.”

“Hmmm.” Viktor tapped on his chin and smiled. “It’s been a while since I was in this realm. My last visit was when a very small and uptight witch wished for the prohibition of alcohol.” He tutted and shook his head in disappointment. “One of the more tragic things I’ve had to do. That’s not still illegal, is it?”

Yuuri closed his mouth when he realized it had been hanging open. “Uh, no. No, I think that stopped like… eighty years ago, or something.”

“Wonderful!” Viktor clapped his hands together and grinned. “Well, if you don’t have a wish in mind yet, I’d like to go see how your world has changed.”

With that, he stood up from the bed, and wiggled his fingers casually at Yuuri as he walked towards the bedroom door.

“Don’t wait up!”

“Wait!” Yuuri scrambled after him, leaping over a moment of panic that he’d just released a very powerful Djinn on the world. “Um… what if I think of something while you’re gone?” 

Viktor turned around and leaned against the kitchen counter, arms folded and a small smile playing on his lips. “Then I suppose you’ll just have to come with me, won’t you? 

Yuuri stared back at the smug grin, realizing that the Djinn wasn’t giving him much of a choice. It was his fault that this had happened anyway - so it was also his responsibility to try and keep Viktor in check, and not causing any havoc on the outside world. It would be better if they could stay inside, but Yuuri had a feeling that what Viktor wanted to do, Viktor was  _ going  _ to do - and if anyone tried to stop him, it’d be a battle that not even the highest witches could be sure to win.

Viktor had created a little ball of fire, and was rolling it between his fingers with that smirk still on his face. 

Yuuri was a powerful witch, but he didn’t think he was  _ that _ powerful. 

The sound of the door opening derailed his train of thought. 

Both Yuuri and Viktor looked over to see Phichit enter the apartment, still staring at his phone as he closed the door behind him.

“Hey, Yuuri. Sorry, I’m headed back out. I just forgot my -” Phichit looked up and paused when he saw a stranger leaning against their counter. Yuuri didn’t say anything, and neither did Viktor; they stood still as a tableau, only the curl of smoke from Viktor’s extinguished fireball moving at all.

“- charger,” Phichit finished. 

Yuuri’s could feel his palms begin to sweat as the silence drew out longer, and Phichit glanced back and from Yuuri to Viktor. The room was still darkened, candles lit everywhere - obviously, it looked as though Yuuri had been doing magic. Would Phichit be able to tell that Viktor wasn’t a human? Was he going to get mad that there was a strange thing in their home? Was he going to tell the university that Yuuri had messed up - was he going to get him kicked out?

“Well, hello!” Phichit’s face split into a wide grin as he waved enthusiastically. “I’m Phichit. I don’t think we’ve met! Are you a friend of Yuuri’s?” 

Viktor smiled in response and pushed himself away from the counter, holding out a hand. “I am definitely a friend of Yuuri’s. Though we just met today, actually.”

“Wow.” Phichit shook his hand while raising an eyebrow at Yuuri. “I’ve never known Yuuri work so fast. You must be special.” 

Yuuri felt his face burn a little, realizing how this must seem; it had to look as though he had blown Phichit and Leo off, so that he could spend time with a different friend of his - one that he’d just met. 

“I suppose I am,” Viktor chuckled and daintily drew back his hand. 

“Well, I won’t get in your way! I’m just going to... grab my charger... and head back to Leo’s.” Phichit slunk backwards towards his bedroom, acting a lot more awkward than he usually did.

Strange. 

“Don’t you worry about it,” Viktor said easily and walked over to Yuuri, sliding an arm around Yuuri’s shoulders. “We were just heading out anyway. Nice you meet you, Phichit!” 

Viktor waved and began to steer them towards the door, as Yuuri’s mind tried to catch up with what had just happened. 

Yuuri glanced over his shoulder, and saw Phichit giving him a thumbs up with a huge smile on his face - right before Viktor closed the door behind them both. 

“Now then,” Viktor looked down the drab hallway, with its unkempt wallpaper and stained carpet, wearing a frown. “I’m already bored of this.” 

Yuuri gasped when he felt all of the air in his lungs escape in a rush - only to be drawn back in a moment later, making him cough violently with Viktor’s arm still around his shoulder. 

“That’s better.”

When he was done coughing, Yuuri looked around in confusion. 

Just a moment ago they’d been in his apartment, and now they were standing just outside of it, facing the street. 

“How…?” Yuuri blinked. He recognized the effects of a teleportation spell; only, that was very difficult magic, which took at least ten seconds to cast - if one was  _ very _ good at it. This had been almost instantaneous. 

“Wow!” Viktor looked at the world around him with wide eyes, taking in the buildings and the cars whirring by. “Amazing what a few years can do for you humans. And you’ve improved the automobile!”

Yuuri watched as Viktor’s eyes widened when a bright pink convertible flew past them, with the sound of noisy laughter following it - and then his eye was caught by a woman’s shiny phone, and then by a shop-front advertising washing machines. For an all-powerful and demonic Djinn, Yuuri reflected, Viktor did look a whole lot like a kid in a candy store, as his attention jumped from one exciting thing to the next. 

“All of the possibilities!” Viktor exclaimed. He unwound his arm from Yuuri’s shoulders and waved it excitedly at the street in front of them. The same pink car that they had just seen drive by instantly appeared on the curb, gleaming under the streetlight as Viktor jogged towards it like a miracle hadn’t just occurred. 

Instant teleportation. Effortless material conjuration. Yuuri stared, and stared some more.

This Djinn had to be one of the most powerful creatures in all of existence, and he was using his powers to give himself a joyride. 

“Come on, Yuuri!” Viktor hopped into the driver’s side of the car without bothering to open the door, long legs swinging gracefully, and he honked the horn twice. 

Yuuri slowly made his own way towards the pink convertible, and rested a hand on the windshield - testing its structure - before hesitantly clicking open the door and sitting in shotgun. The car seemed real enough, despite its implausibility. Maybe Viktor was right, no matter how far-fetched it seemed. Maybe his powers truly didn’t have any limitations.

The apparition of the car didn’t seem to have drawn any particular attention from the passers-by, though Yuuri noticed a few impressed and amused glances sent their way at the car’s luxurious pink colour.

“Did you weave a Guise?” Yuuri said, but Viktor seemed too interested in checking his own reflection in the rearview to listen. “To make people forget, or not see? Did you cast a spell?”

“Hmm? Oh, that just happens,” Viktor said airily, shrugging. And Yuuri was staring again, because what kind of creature was so powerfully magical that spells just  _ happened,  _ as easily and unconsciously as breathing?

“Right… right. Do you even know how to drive?” Yuuri asked, his heart pounding as the engine roared to life, though Viktor hadn’t used any key to start it. 

“I do now,” VIktor said reassuringly, in a way that wasn’t at all reassuring. 

The car revved and pulled away from the curb in one fluid motion. As they zoomed down the street with Viktor’s laughter ringing in Yuuri’s ears, he considered using one of his wishes just to survive this car ride. He gripped the seat tightly as Viktor wound his way through cars, miraculously not hitting a single thing. 

“So, Yuuri,”Viktor said, looking over at him and taking his eyes off of the road for far too long. “I get the feeling that conjuring me was very much an accident.”

Yuuri swallowed, not surprised that he’d guessed, but more thrown off that he’d taken the time to point it out - and now, of all times, when the wind was pushing Yuuri’s hair back from his forehead into a complete mess, and stealing the breath from his lungs. Viktor seemed to have a knack for maintaining the upper hand.

“Tell me... what was your purpose poking around in my realm, if you were not prepared for a situation like this?”

“I -” Yuuri let out a breath of relief as Viktor swerved around a bicyclist. “I was trying to practise conjuring a demon. Just a small one. I’ve got a test soon, and I hadn’t been able to do it.”

Yuuri spared a glance away from the road at Viktor, who looked endlessly amused by his answer. “Really? All this for a test? Well, well, well. You are one lucky witch, aren’t you? You got me, instead!”

_ Yes _ , Yuuri thought flatly.  _ Lucky me _ . 

“Think of your possibilities, Yuuri,” Viktor said as he waved at a pedestrian. “You could wish to pass the test if you wanted. You could wish for this car. You could wish to have so much money that you could buy off the person running the test, and buy this car,  _ and _ get bigger living quarters.” 

The words rang in Yuuri’s ears as Viktor spoke, but they didn’t seem as tempting as he knew they should. Did he lie awake at night, crippled with unreasonable anxiety that he wouldn’t be able to pass tests? Yes. But he always  _ did _ pass them, in the end… it didn’t seem worth it, when he could wish for  _ anything. _ And this car was nice, but he didn’t mind getting in the extra exercise of walking to campus, and he actually liked living in his current apartment with Phichit. In fact, he couldn’t think of anything material that he wanted right now. 

Viktor squinted at him as the silence between them stretched longer, only the roar of the pink convertible filling the gap. “No? None of those? Interesting.” 

In one quick motion, Viktor made a turn so sharp that the tires squealed in protest, and the smell of burned rubber filled Yuuri’s nostrils. 

“How about immortality?”

Yuuri frowned.

“I don’t… really want to live forever,” he said.

Viktor shrugged, looking unruffled.

“Your loss. Any revenge that you want done?”

“Uh, I don’t really have enemies.”

“How about becoming the most  _ powerful  _ witch in the  _ world _ ?”

That one was almost tempting. Yuuri tried to build up an image: being effortlessly better than all the other students in his school - even better than the teachers. The best, without ever having to try, while everyone else had to scratch and toil to be half as good...

“Well…” Yuuri said, and then shook his head. “I’d probably feel guilty all the time, if I didn’t earn that myself.”

The car screeched to a stop in the middle of the road as Viktor frowned at Yuuri, and for the first time, he seemed to be letting his annoyance show. 

“You know,” he said, “you’re making my sole task in the universe extremely difficult right now.”

Yuuri pressed his lips together tightly and folded his hands together in his lap. How could he help it, if Viktor was offering him things that he didn’t find very appealing? Not to mention he was finding it very hard to think things through properly, when part of him was in permanent turmoil about what to do with this powerful demon he’d let loose in the world. Should he warn one of his professors? They might know what to do, but that would mean admitting to them that it was his fault, and who  _ knows _ what they’d do to him then. What if Viktor just decided that this was too boring and started upping his antics? Whatever happened, Yuuri couldn’t see a situation where this ended well for him. 

He took a deep breath when he started to feel the impending panic attack that he’d dodged before start to creep back towards him. 

“You’re very strange, you know,” he heard Viktor say, “Most of my masters would have already wished for something by now.”

What if he didn’t want these wishes? This was too much pressure for one person to be able to manage. Besides, what if something bad happened if he used them? Viktor said he’d be able to return home after all three were used, but what if Yuuri could just do whatever he wanted afterwards, and he ended up forgetting who he was and doing something awful?

“I’ve never had someone turn down those particular wish offers, either. How interesting.” 

Viktor’s voice was beginning to grate on him, as Yuuri closed his eyes and tried to keep his anxiety from crushing him. He understood that there was obviously more at stake here than Viktor probably realized, but did they have to keep talking about how odd and ignorant he was? And could Viktor at least park the car somewhere that wasn’t in the middle of the road? 

The roiling in his stomach was reaching a high point and his breathing was getting faster as he began to rub his hands up and down his thighs, just for some sort of grounding point. 

“What are you doing? Are you alri-”

“ _ Fine _ ,” Yuuri said, barely gritting the word out through clenched teeth. “I have a wish. I wish I didn’t have deal with my anxiety. Just take it away.” 

He opened his eyes and glared over at Viktor, who was looking a little surprised by the outburst. 

“You said you had no limits, right?” Yuuri said, ready to argue. “That’s my wish.”

Yuuri watched as Viktor raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side, nodding to himself a few times, before seemingly coming to some sort of conclusion. “Simple enough.” 

There was the slight sound of sizzling; Viktor’s face contorted in pain for just a few moments before returning to normal. Yuuri furrowed his brow as Viktor tugged down the collar of his shirt, to display what looked to be a freshly seared roman numeral against his chest - the flesh still raw. 

A number one.

“What the -?”

“Side effect,” Viktor explained nonchalantly, as he let go of his shirt and revved the car.

“I didn’t realize that would hurt you.” Yuuri said, guilt starting to creep in as he continued to see the image of the painfully red skin in his mind. “I’m sorry.”

Viktor simply rolled his eyes and continued driving down the road. “Don’t be. It comes with the job.”

Even so, maybe Yuuri could help?

He closed his eyes and murmured a few words from a simple healing spell he’d memorized a couple of years ago, directing the focus at the memory of the burned flesh - and felt the release of magic towards Viktor, before it dispersed. 

Yuuri opened his eyes, only to see Viktor - once again - looking at him like he was a puzzle he couldn’t understand in the slightest. 

“I appreciate the gesture, Yuuri,” Viktor said, his eyes back on the road, “But it’s no use. The mark symbolizes the sealing of a deal. It can’t be healed away.”

Yuuri nodded slowly, though he still didn’t entirely understand, and was worried that maybe he’d somehow done something wrong again. 

“Is - is my anxiety gone, then?” he asked, pressing a hand against his own chest. It still felt tight; his stomach still rolled. He sure didn’t feel any differently than he had a few moments ago. 

“Not yet.” A playful smile grew on Viktor’s lips. “We’re going to get a little hands-on with your wish, but don’t worry. I promise you won’t have to worry about your anxiety tonight.”

Yuuri hung onto his seat for dear life as the convertible sped up again, careening down the streets, until they stopped in front of an extremely colorful building with the sounds of loud music coming from inside. The surrounding neighborhood looked glitzy and bright, with people wearing short dresses and high heels and tight jeans on the sidewalk, and neon signs flashing for attention in every direction. The place Viktor had pointed to, though, was definitely the loudest and the brightest.

“What’s this place?” Yuuri asked, taking in the atmosphere and deciding firmly against going inside unless he absolutely had to. 

“ _ The Banquet _ !” Viktor said, and held out a phone with a location marker showing on the screen. “This is the item that your housemate was using, yes? Incredible device.” 

Viktor turned around in his seat with the camera app pulled up, snapping a picture of the two of them, though Yuuri was sure he just looked baffled in the photo. 

“I love it!” Viktor said gleefully. 

“You know how to work that?” Yuuri asked. He couldn’t have had it for more than a few moments at most, while Yuuri stared at the building. 

“I do now.” Viktor winked and jumped over the seat and out of the car in one fluid movement. “Come on, Yuuri. Time to go inside.”

Yuuri looked from Viktor, to the bar, and back to Viktor. Crowds and loud music and lots of yelling obviously waited for him if he followed inside, and he wasn’t particularly in the mood for it right now. What could Viktor possibly want in there?

“Why?”

“Because this is the best way I know of to cure a case of some high-strung nerves.” Viktor gestured at him from the doorway. “Don’t worry - I’ll make sure no harm comes to you. I’m not allowed to kill my masters, you know. Unless a wish calls for it, of course.”

That actually hadn’t occurred to Yuuri at all, but he supposed it was at least a little comforting - though he didn’t like how Viktor seemed to trivialize what it meant to have anxiety. ‘High-strung nerves’ sounded like a problem a horse might have, not a person. And when Viktor said ‘case’, he needed to try ‘years-long struggle’. 

Then again, he doubted someone as powerful as Viktor had to worry about something like anxiety, so maybe he really didn’t understand. He was watching Yuuri now, one head tilted elegantly to the side, waiting for Yuuri to follow with a slight smile on his face.

Yuuri chewed on his lip as he struggled to decide. A couple of people walked close by them, heading for the  _ Banquet _ , laughing raucously.

“Well,  _ I’m  _ going inside,” Viktor said with a sigh. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Wait -” Yuuri took a deep breath and rubbed at his eyes. He wasn’t sure he quite believed Viktor about the anxiety thing - he had no idea how bright flashing lights and loud noises and lots of people would help at all - but either way, he had to stick next to Viktor and make sure the Djinn didn’t leave his sight. There was a duty that he had to keep. If Viktor hurt someone because Yuuri had left him to his own devices, the responsibility would lie at Yuuri’s door.

He took a hesitant step forward, and then another.

“There we go!” Yuuri ignored Viktor’s delighted sounds as he made his way over to the  _ Banquet,  _ and opened the door to a dimly lit bar that was just as crowded and lively on the inside as he’d imagined it to be. Loud music was playing in the background, though it was mainly congregated near a large dance floor with a stage off to the side, so that near the bar, people could hear better. There were a few poles beside the dance floor, as well as some pool tables that seemed more or less abandoned in favor of the poles.

Yuuri swallowed and took a few steps inside, trying to blend in as much as possible. 

He was, of course, in complete contrast to Viktor, who was sporting an uncommonly flashy outfit, and was waving enthusiastically at everyone who looked at him. 

“What a wonderful bar! I’m so happy these are legal now.” Viktor threw his arm around Yuuri again. “Really, I was so disappointed that I had to make something as wonderful as alcohol illegal simply because a few people were morally against it. Waste of a wish if you ask me.”  

Yuuri was barely listening to him, his eyes instead darting around to all of the faces around them. They all definitely seemed friendly enough. The atmosphere didn’t feel unsafe, at the very least, but there were still a lot of people around. 

A  _ lot _ . 

“Shall we go to the bar or the dance floor?” Viktor said, eyeing the stage with something in his eye that Yuuri wasn’t sure he liked. 

“I think… bar,” Yuuri murmured, steering the two of them towards the quieter and more well-lit part of the building. He didn’t drink as often as his friends did, but he would probably make a little bit of an exception tonight. 

“Two, please,” Viktor said, waving two fingers elegantly, as the bartender walked over towards where they were sitting on the stools. 

“Of?”

“Anything,” Yuuri finished, eyeing the dance-off that was currently congregating next to the stage. A few people that had to be witches were letting off a few colored sparks above the crowd as they cheered for the people in the middle.

“Two anythings coming up.” 

Two glasses were set down in front of them a few moments later, with pink liquid sloshing inside.

“Cheers,” Yuuri said, tapping his glass against Viktor’s, who raised an eyebrow at him. 

“To what?”

Yuuri shrugged. “To wishes.”

Viktor chuckled. “To wishes.”

Yuuri tossed back the glass of anything - the taste of fruit coating his mouth, and hitting the back of his throat. 

It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t  _ bad.  _ Yuuri finished it, and raised his hand for the bartender’s attention.

“Two more,” he said. “Please.”

“I haven’t -” Viktor began, picking up his still-full glass.

“They’re for me,” Yuuri said. 


	3. Chapter 3

Yuuri groaned. 

He could feel his head pulsing to the beat of his heart, tongue thick as carpet in his mouth. He stretched; he was lying on soft sheets, at least. His entire body ached just from thinking about moving any part of him, and his eyes felt heavier than he knew was possible. 

With a quiet, distressed little noise,, he managed to coax one eye open and look blearily at his surroundings. 

He was… in his room?

Slowly, ever so slowly - feeling the room lurch - Yuuri sat up in his bed and reached for his glasses on the bedside table. He put them on.

“Oh, God,” he remarked, to no one in particular. His head and his stomach and his aching muscles seemed to demand it. Nothing was improved by having the room in sharp focus; on the contrary, he thought he felt just a little bit worse.

His room looked unchanged - painted circle on the floor, open window curtain, unlit candles - but something was off. 

Yuuri rubbed at his eyes as he struggled to recall details from the night before. He remembered music... dancing... strangers’ faces, and alcohol. 

Lots and  _ lots  _ of alcohol. 

In fact, that was when his memory started to fail him. He clearly remembered everything that had happened up to his second or third drink of the night, and after that… things were fuzzy.

Yuuri had a little pit in the bottom of his stomach - one that went deeper than the nausea of the hangover - which made him feel as though the fuzziness might be more of a blessing than anything. He had a terrible suspicion that he’d done some things the night before… things that he couldn’t usually have done.

“ -but you know how he is. Oh, thank you for allowing me sleep on your couch, by the way.”

A familiar voice reached his ears through his hazy mind; it was one that was impossible to forget. 

“Of course! I wouldn’t want you to sleep on the floor. What kind of host would I be?”

And that was Phichit. 

Viktor the Djinn and Phichit the roommate were talking. 

Yuuri threw back the blankets and scrambled out of his bed, even though his body was screaming in protest through the entire movement and his stomach protested fervently and his head spun. His arms were sore. Why were his arms sore? 

He threw open the door, half-expecting Viktor to be hovering in the air with  _ Djinn _ splayed above him in gold letters and Phichit looking on in awe - but was greeted only by the two of them casually drinking tea on opposite sides of the counter.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Viktor said, greeting him with a smile - one that Yuuri didn’t think he’d seen yet. There was something different about it, about Viktor’s whole expression and body language. Through the blurriness of the headache, it felt like a beam of sunlight; Yuuri tried to place why it made his head spin in a different way to the hangover. It looked less - less mischievous than usual, and more… genuine? 

“Were you drinking shots of Paralysis Potion last night?” Phichit said, smiling into his mug of tea.

Yuuri realised that he’d been staring dazedly at Viktor for a little too long, and blinked.

“How are you feeling?” Viktor asked, smoothly covering the moment.

“Um...” Yuuri blinked a few times and cleared his throat, which caused his head to throb again. “I’ve been better. What happened?”

“Do you not remember?” Viktor’s smile fell into a small pout, as Phichit failed at an attempt to cover a snort. 

“No.” Yuuri frowned. He didn’t like the feeling of being on the outside of an inside joke that the two of them seemed to be sharing. “I remember... drinking… a lot. And that’s it, really. Why?” He was almost afraid of the answer. 

“I just didn’t realize you were such a good dancer, Yuuri,” Phichit said, and walked over to his small plant that rested on the windowsill above their kitchen sink. He whispering a few words to it, smiling as it perked up its drooped leaves.

“Dancer?” Yuuri asked as a knot of dread began to form in his stomach. The room shifted strangely again; Yuuri put his hand to his head, and made his way across the kitchen so that he could take Phichit’s vacated place, leaning against the counter opposite Viktor.

“Yes!” Viktor pulled out the phone that he’d given himself the night before and moved around the counter; he pressed himself close to Yuuri, so they could both look at the pictures he’d pulled up on his screen. “Look at how wonderful you were!”

_ Wonderful  _ was not how Yuuri would have described the photos he was seeing. In fact, whatever the opposite of  _ wonderful _ was would have been a far more accurate description. 

On Viktor’s phone was picture after picture of Yuuri making a fool of himself. It started off innocently enough with giddy selfies of the two of them together, and an ever-increasing amount of empty glasses spread across the bar. As Viktor kept swiping, Yuuri watched a version of himself he definitely didn’t remember stripping off his clothes a little at a time, until there were actual pictures of himself  _ poledancing _ with another man - almost completely  _ naked _ . 

“That’s Chris,” Viktor explained, tapping on his face, as if Yuuri didn’t know who he was talking about. “He was very fun. Swiss, I think.” 

After the horrific photos he’d just seen, the next few weren’t bad, just surprising; thankfully, he’d somehow managed to put some of his clothes back on,  and - as far as he could tell - was dancing hand-in-hand with Viktor. Mid-air. He almost didn’t recognize himself, purely based on how incredibly happy and care-free he looked, with Viktor’s face mirroring the same expression. 

Yuuri heard a soft sigh next to him. 

“I haven’t danced like that in a very long time.” 

Yuuri looked over at Viktor, and was taken aback by the softness in his face as he stared at the picture of the two of them. 

This Viktor seemed very different from the Djinn that he’d been just yesterday. The pushy, cocky, and careless attitude that had been so prevalent when he was first summoned was nowhere to be found - at least not at the moment. Yuuri looked up at him - at the curve of his neck, and the way his tunic was slipping slightly off one shoulder. Viktor kept his eyes on his phone for a long moment - and then looked into Yuuri’s eyes.

A throat cleared next to them. 

“Well,” Phichit said, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and obviously trying to hide a smile, “I’m going to just - uh- I have to leave, you know? Gotta practice my… water-shaping spell.” He waved his hand in the direction of the door, causing it to swing open on its own. “I’ll see you later, Yuuri! Nice talking to you, Viktor!” 

Phichit waved one last time, gave another thumbs up, and shut the door behind him. 

“He’s nice.” Viktor said, staring at the door. “Very into nature-based magic. Which is, in my opinion, very useful.” He delicately readjusted his tunic. “So…”

“What was the point of all that?” Yuuri asked, stepping away from where the image was still displayed on Viktor’s phone. “Was it just… for fun?”

“For fun?” Viktor raised an eyebrow, “Well, of course. You looked like you could use some fun. But I was also granting your wish.”

Yuuri frowned, taken aback by his response. His wish? What did getting wasted at a bar have to do with his wish? 

“Well... you must not be as powerful as you thought,” he muttered, still feeling the ever-present ache of his anxiety, the one that never really left him alone. “I’m still anxious. You didn’t cure anything.”

Viktor huffed, and folded his arms in front of his chest. “That’s not  _ my  _ fault, Yuuri. You didn’t specify in your wish how long you wanted it gone for. You just said that you wished that you didn’t have to deal with your anxiety. So I made sure that you  _ didn’t  _ have to.” He blinked solemnly. “For a night. “

Yuuri’s mouth dropped open when he realized what Viktor was saying. It was true that when he’d gotten drunk, losing his inhibitions had also stripped him of any anxiety that he’d felt -  _ because he couldn’t feel much of anything.  _ What Viktor had done was twist his words to fit a narrative, and called it a “wish granted”. 

“How could you?” Yuuri said, a small pang of something he couldn’t quite name struck in his heart. “You knew what I meant and you - you just -”

“How could I?” Viktor repeated as he frowned at Yuuri in a way that made him feel very small. Still, he didn’t back down.

“Yes!” he said. “I just asked you to take away my anxiety. And you orchestrated that whole night? You manipulated me into doing… all those... things?”

“You made your own decisions.” Viktor was frowning deeply. “I didn’t push you into drinking anything or dancing with anyone. I simply gave you opportunities, and you took them. And your wish was granted _. _ ” Viktor’s words felt heavy, redolent with power - but then it softened. “Didn’t you... enjoy it, at least? Any of it?” 

Yuuri balled his hands into fists.

“None of it was real,” he snapped. “It was all controlled by you. And I can’t remember most of it, anyway!”

A rush of wind caught Yuuri by surprise, causing to take a step back from Viktor, who was slowly beginning to rise in the air, his clothing and his hair whipping in time to the small windstorm that had gathered around him.

“ **I think you forget, Yuuri Katsuki, that I am still a demon, and you are not in a fairy tale.** ” Viktor’s voice was magnified and rung as if silver itself was dripping from his words. “ **I have a nature and purpose that I cannot change.** ” He stared down at Yuuri with eyes that shifted from human blue to glowing, demonic red.

Yuuri looked up at the floating figure with equal parts awe and fear - and realized that Viktor was right.

There was no point trying to hold Viktor to a moral code, no point feeling betrayed by him. Viktor wasn’t built to understand or comply with those kinds of rules. He was a Djinn; he was nothing like Yuuri.

Last night had almost tricked him into believing that Viktor was human. Obviously, the reminder that he was an all-powerful magical entity was at least always somewhat present in the back of his mind - but it was easy to forget when he was gleefully driving a pink convertible and constantly taking selfies.

The windstorm ceased as quickly as it had begun, and Viktor slowly sank back to Yuuri’s level, his expression more pained than Yuuri would have expected. Blue bled back into his eyes, and with it came sorrow.

“That being said,” Viktor started, then cleared his throat and ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. “I am sorry. But loopholes and caveats are a part of the fabric that creates what I am. It’s what I’ve always done. And it’s what I must continue to do, for as long as I exist.”

Yuuri took another step back, pulled up a chair from the table, and sat down, already emotionally exhausted from the events of the day - and it had barely begun. 

“I knew I should have waited to wish until I researched you,” he muttered, putting his head in his hands. “I’m so stupid.”

There was a few moments of awkward silence before the gentle touch of a hand rested on his shoulder. Yuuri blinked and looked up into the face of Viktor, who then pulled up the only other chair at the table to sit in front of him. 

“Yes, you should have. But I hope you’re not too hard on yourself. I’ve rushed greater witches than you into a worse wish than yours. That includes witches that had studied Djinn for years before conjuring one.”

Yuuri stared back the Djinn and squinted his eyes in suspicion.  Why was he doing this? Why was he trying to make him feel better about all of this? He’d just made it abundantly clear that he was a demonic entity. That kind of gave him a free pass on the “nice” thing; he had to know he wouldn’t fool Yuuri into making a stupid wish that way a second time. 

“Why are you sorry?” he asked quietly. 

Viktor slowly withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair, releasing a slow breath of air. “Well, frankly, because I like you.” 

Yuuri’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Really,” Viktor said, obviously ready for the incredulous words Yuuri was preparing. “You’re different from all of my other masters. Every single one of them. It’s actually amazing. I didn’t think that humans like you... existed.”

LIke  _ him? _ What was he talking about? Yuuri wasn’t anything special. He was a decent witch, but there was nothing much to him other than that. 

“I feel… bad… that I had to twist your wish the way I did.” Viktor’s face contorted briefly, as if naming the feeling was especially difficult for him. “I’m not used to that. I’m not even really built to feel it. Normally this is very fun for me.” 

Yuuri watched different emotions flit across Viktor’s face. This seemed to be something that genuinely surprised him, and was hard for him to process. 

“... thank you?” Yuuri said, not entirely sure how to react to this confession. 

“You’re welcome.” Viktor said with a nod. “I’ve - well, I’ve never done this before, but - if you’d like, I can try to coach you through your next two wishes.”

Was this some kind of trick? Yuuri studied the Djinn’s face, searching for any sign that he could be lying to him, or manipulating him. 

“You want to coach me,” he repeated. 

“Yes,” Viktor said, “You see, there’s a trick to wishes. What you have to do is be specific.”

“Okay.”

“Understand that every wish I grant has to have a twist. It’s a part of my nature.” Viktor explained, moving his chair closer to a baffled Yuuri. “So, as long as you are specific enough to make the twist a good one, or at least not a bad one, then you’ll be fine.” 

“That sounds... difficult.”

“It is.” Viktor pressed his hands together, the tips of his fingers tapping together thoughtfully. “Without actually using your wish, tell me what were you thinking of using it for. It also helps to keep it simple.”

Yuuri clasped his hands on his lap, trying to think something - but the headache that he’d been trying to ignore was resurging with a vengeance. It really was his own fault that he had this, so he should just live with the consequences - but he was now being required to think, and it felt like walking through sludge.

He sighed and moved his hand in a small circle, muttering a few choice words to himself, and pressed a finger to his own temple. He felt the usual draw of energy leave him, but he also felt his headache subside almost instantly. 

Now, about that wish. 

If he could have anything right now, with no limitations, what would he want? 

“World peace?” he asked, wincing a little at how cliché he sounded. 

Viktor smiled, but also shook his head. “Unfortunately, there are too many ways to twist that wish for the worst. Civilizations tend to get eradicated. It’s a noble concept, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Well, he would probably know better. 

What else did Yuuri want? Maybe if he kept it on a smaller scale it would be easier to stay specific about. He pressed his lips together in thought, looking around at his kitchen and trying to draw some inspiration from it. He was honestly doing alright when it came to material things. He wasn’t wealthy in the slightest, but he was able to afford what he needed. Maybe… maybe he could help his parents, though?

“Um... my family owns a hot springs in Japan,” Yuuri said as an idea began to form in his head. “It used to be very popular but it’s become less so, recently. Is there any way you could make it popular again? My parents would really appreciate -”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” Viktor held up a hand. “I understand that you are very noble, Yuuri. But nobility is only honored in fairy tales, and you know that you’re not in one. I promise you, there are no prizes for being a hero. There’s no secret fourth wish to unlock with magical kindness. And if you’re hoping for applause - just try telling people you wished for something like that, for your parents. You won’t get much praise. They probably won’t believe you.”

“They won’t?” said Yuuri, briefly distracted.

“Of course not. It’s far easier to justify being selfish when you believe everyone is. People won’t want to hear a story like that.”

Yuuri frowned down at his clasped hands.

“You really see a good side of humanity in your job, don’t you,” he muttered. Viktor, to Yuuri’s surprise, smiled.

“Maybe not,” he said. “But - come on, Yuuri. Isn’t there anything that you want for yourself?”

“That - that is what I want,” Yuuri fumbled. “My parents -”

“- will be fine, with such a powerful witch as a son,” Viktor finished, and Yuuri felt a little surge of pride at the praise - despite knowing that Viktor hadn’t actually seen him do much magic. “You’ll be able to help them make it popular on your own, one day. I’m talking about a wish for  _ you. _ Be selfish, for once.”

Viktor’s words rung in his ears as Yuuri tried to think. Was there something he could be truly selfish about? Yuuri chewed on his lip as he looked over at the refrigerator. Hung on it with magnets were a few report cards that Phichit had insisted be displayed, a few certificates of achievements - and a picture of Vicchan, Yuuri’s late dog. 

A pang of sadness surprised him. It had been just over a year since he’d passed away, but he still missed getting tackled to the ground whenever he came home from school. 

Oh.

_ Oh. _

What if -

“You said you have no limits, right?” Yuuri’s hands clenched into nervous fists in his lap. 

Viktor’s lip quirked. “I did.”

“My… my dog died. Last year. Can you bring him back?” Yuuri said, preparing for Viktor say it was impossible, for whatever reason. 

Viktor tapped on his chin thoughtfully, and nodded. “Yes. I think I could make that work. The usual twist with resurrection is a corruption of the living. Normally, I bring back an undead form of the loved one or a ghost form that can never be interacted with, but as long as you’re specific enough, I think I could make the twist… better.”

After a brief sense of horror at the idea that Viktor had put someone through that awful experience, Yuuri let out a breath. He tried to think of a way to phrase the wish. 

“Okay, I think I’m ready.” 

Viktor nodded, and gestured for him to continue. 

“Oh, wait,” Yuuri said, remembering the burning number that had been seared into Viktor’s flesh after his first wish. “What about the number that -” he pointed at Viktor’s chest. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Viktor said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It’s happened to me thousands of times, now. You get used to it.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better about it! What if I-”

“Yuuri, if you don’t make your wish now, I’m turning Phichit into a hamster next time I see him.”

Yuuri snapped his mouth closed and glared at Viktor, who seemed like he was enjoying this far more than he should be. 

“Fine.” Yuuri took a deep breath. “I wish that my late dog Vicchan could come back from in the dead in a way that is whole, completely alive, and… solid?” 

Viktor shook his head with a light chuckle but seemed more or less pleased with the wish. “Perfect.” 

The smile instantly vanished as he doubled over, the sound of sizzling once again filling the air and making Yuuri’s stomach turn. Viktor was back up a moment later with a pained grin that wasn’t fooling anyone. 

“See? Not so bad.”

Yuuri held out a hand and slowly reached forward, pulling Viktor’s shirt aside. As long as it was his fault, he should see the damage for himself. 

An additional roman numeral had been seared right next to the first, making a very distinctⅡon his pectoral. He brushed his fingers against the mark as gently as he could, feeling the mark cool and begin to scar a lot more quickly than it should have.

Yuuri looked up when a gentle hand grasped his own. 

“I really am fine, Yuuri. The scar will disappear with my next form, anyway,” Viktor said as he smiled down at him, his face closer than it had been since he’d first been conjured. 

HIs next form?

Oh - right. What had Viktor said? After Yuuri used his third wish, Viktor would leave and wait in his own plane of existence, until he was conjured by some other witch again. Would he use this same form? There was something about the idea that felt - uncomfortable, somehow, Viktor looking like this and being with another master. It didn’t seem right.

A small tendril of melancholy wrapped its way around Yuuri’s heart at the thought of Viktor leaving - tiny, but undeniable. That was ridiculous, though. Yuuri hadn’t even known him for a day, yet. And Viktor, as much as he professed to like Yuuri, had been floating near the ceiling with red eyes just a few minutes earlier. They weren’t -  _ friends. _

And yet - Viktor let go of Yuuri’s hand, and the trail his fingers left tingled for seconds afterwards; the sensation left Yuuri with nothing he wanted to do but to stare, studying the expression on Viktor’s face. It was moments like these that he forgot about the Djinn, and was left with just Viktor. His gaze dipped from Viktor’s eyes down to his lips. Maybe they weren’t friends, but maybe  _ friends  _ wasn’t exactly -

Yuuri’s train of thought was interrupted by the small pitter-patter of feet on the wood floor, and the highest-sounding yelp he’d ever heard in his life. 

Next to his chair, sitting patiently with a tail wagging, was a very small ball of fluff that Yuuri almost didn’t recognize as a dog, until Viktor scooped it up and cooed. 

“Who’s such a good boy, coming back from the dead? Yes, you are!” Viktor tapped the dog on the nose once and held it out towards Yuuri. “Here you go! Wish granted.”

“Uh...” Yuuri hesitantly took the dog that was definitely an eighth of the size of the Vicchan he remembered, and scratched it behind the ear. It turned its head and licked his hand. “I think you made a mistake, Viktor. This isn’t my dog.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course he is!” He bent down and made faces at the Pomeranian, ruffling its fluffy cheeks. “I had to reincarnate him, is all.” 

Yuuri’s eyes widened as he realized what Viktor was insinuating. 

“This... is Vicchan?” he asked, more to himself than to Viktor, and held the dog up in front of his face to look at him more closely. 

The dog barked and wagged its tail in his grasp. 

“Vicchan?” 

Another bark, followed by a slobbery kiss on Yuuri’s nose. The little dog looked at Yuuri adoringly.

Yuuri’s heart leapt at the recognition, and he hugged the dog close to his chest. “Ah, Vicchan! I’ve missed you so much, I’ve thought about you every day - you’re so fluffy now!” 

The dog retaliated with lathering his face in slobber that had been much-missed over the past year. Even though he was in a different body, he still seemed to be the dog Yuuri knew and loved. He laughed, and buried his face in Vicchan’s fur.

“Adorable.” 

Yuuri paused mid-pet to glance up at Viktor. “What?”

“You. The wish. It’s adorable.” Viktor said as he leaned over to prop his head up on his hands. “I’ve never done a  _ good  _ twist before. It’s… nice.” 

“Well,” Yuuri smiled as he scratched the new Vicchan behind his ear. “Maybe you should try it more often.”

Viktor hummed thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything more on the subject, leaving the two to continue their reunion. 


	4. Chapter 4

Yuuri spent a majority of the day cuddling with Vicchan, and preparing the apartment for a dog again. It had been a while since he’d passed away, and there was no longer any food food for him in the apartment. Luckily, Yuuri had kept the bed and the bowls - though both were now very large in comparison to his dog, but he’d take what he could get. 

Taking Viktor to the pet shop to buy the proper dog food  would have almost been a nightmare, if not for the redeeming quality of Viktor’s apparent love of animals. Yuuri had to drag him away from both the rabbit section and the chinchilla aisle multiple times.

“Just look at them, Yuuri - you could get one, and keep it -”

“No.”

“But they’re so small and fluffy…”

“I already have a pet just like that, thanks to you,” Yuuri said, without any sting. Vicchan lolled his little tongue out, and wagged his tail at Viktor. 

When they finally made it back home - because Yuuri had forced them to  _ walk _ and not draw more attention to themselves by using the pink convertible again -  Yuuri had adjusted to his new old dog with more ease than he’d originally thought he would. Even though Vicchan looked different, he was still the same as ever, with the same quirks and interests that Yuuri could remember. 

Yuuri huffed out a breath as he dropped all of his newly-purchased items on the kitchen counter, and collapsed on a stool with Vicchan making himself comfortable on the large bed in the corner. He’d move the dog bed into his room later, but for now, he was content. 

It had been a long walk to the pet shop, and despite Viktor’s occasional complaints of boredom, he’d seemed to have fun. 

“Walking everywhere seems incredibly dull,” Viktor said, from where he was hovering on his side five feet in the air. 

“Get down from there,” Yuuri said with an eyeroll, and noticed all of the dishes in the sink. He muttered a few words and waved a hand until the water turned itself on and the dishes began scrubbing themselves. “Phichit could walk through that door any minute.”

Viktor raised an eyebrow. “So? I’ll just tell him I’m a witch like you. You can do a hovering charm, can’t you?”

Yuuri sighed, realizing that he didn’t exactly have a good argument against that. He got up, and began to sort through the bags on the counter, unpacking them slowly.

“Well, yes. But it takes more energy to complete it the longer you keep it up, and no witch would just hover casually in the kitchen while exhausting themselves.”

“I would,” Viktor said, but dropped to the floor anyway. Yuuri smiled over his shoulder, and then turned back to the shopping.

“I believe you,” he said.

Yuuri felt Viktor lay his chin on Yuuri’s shoulder, standing behind him. 

“You haven’t thought of your last wish, have you?”

Yuuri paused in his unpacking of food. 

Last wish. 

“Uh, no. No, I haven’t,” he murmured, setting the bags of dog food to the side.  

He’d almost completely forgotten that he only had one wish left. After he’d used it, Viktor would be out of his hair forever. Yes, that was going to be a good thing. Wasn’t it? No more worrying that he was going to get found out by Phichit, or discovered by one of his professors; no more anxiety that Viktor would wreak havoc on some poor undeserving person, just because he was powerful and didn’t care. No more being taken out of his comfort zone in convertibles and bars. All Yuuri had to do was use that one last wish - he could even do it now, right now - and everything would go back to normal.

So… why did he feel so hesitant to use it?

He had a Djinn coaching him into making a good wish, the possibility of whatever he wanted, and the guarantee of said very annoying Djinn disappearing for good, the moment it was used. 

Shouldn’t he be jumping at this chance?

And yet -

“Well then,” Viktor said, “if you don’t have a wish yet, I have something to discuss with you.”

Yuuri’s heart beat a little irregularly. What could it be about? Was Viktor unhappy about being stuck with him? Probably. Viktor seemed to get bored easily, and probably just wanted off this plane of existence as soon as possible. 

“Uh, okay.” Yuuri nudged Viktor’s head from where he was leaning on him, and turned around with his arms folded protectively in front of him - only to be greeted by the sight of the living room behind Viktor. Instead of the simple room with an averagely-sized couch, it had been turned into what looked like the inside of a very lavish tent, with silks draped from the ceiling and incredibly plush pillows covering every inch of the floor. 

“What did you do?” he asked, jaw dropping open at the room he didn’t recognize. 

Was that a peacock sitting on a pillow?

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Viktor smiled and held out an arm as he walked over to the pillowed floor and flopped down gracefully. “I find this to be a much better sleeping arrangement than your very uncomfortable couch.” 

“Viktor, you can’t just -” Yuuri stopped when he felt a buzzing in his pocket, and pulled out his phone to see a text from Phichit. 

_ 7:23 - Be home in a bit! Is your special guest still here?? ;)  _

Yuuri slapped a hand against his forehead and groaned. “Viktor, you have to get rid of all of this. Now.”

Viktor sat up and crossed his arms in front of his chest as he pouted. 

“But why? I have certain standards when it comes to luxury, and your couch isn’t meeting my needs.”

“Phichit is going to be here soon!” Yuuri countered, and held up his phone as if it would demonstrate his point. “We can’t have our front room looking like this when he walks in the door!”

“I won’t sleep on that couch again.” Viktor said adamantly. 

“Fine.” Yuuri rubbed at his eyes. “You can make whatever you want in my room, just -  _ please.  _ Get rid of all of this.”

Viktor smiled in a way that made Yuuri feel like he’d somehow got the worse end of the deal, and inclined his head. An instant later all of the drapes, cushions, pillows and signs of anything else luxurious vanished in a puff of white smoke. 

“Perfect.” Viktor said. He tucked a single, small, bright blue peacock feather behind one ear.

_ 7:25 - Yes. Sorry about that.  _ Yuuri typed, and pressed send. 

“Thank you,” Yuuri said, more out of relief than actual gratefulness. Having a sudden mountain of soft pillows would have been hard to explain away to Phichit without him getting suspicious, let alone a decorative bird. 

_ 7:26 - It’s fine! I like him :) I’m bringing pizza, btw! _

Yuuri pressed his lips together as he read the text and shoved his phone in his pocket with a sigh. Maybe it was best to get this last wish over with as soon as possible so he didn’t have to keep dodging Phichit. Not to mention the fact that Viktor would probably be grateful to get away from the apparent ‘strangeness’ of Yuuri that he seemed to love pointing out so much. 

_ Tomorrow, _ he decided.  _ I’ll think up something soon and use my last wish tomorrow.  _

He waited for the stress that had been building ever since he first conjured Viktor to slowly ebb away with the decision, but it didn’t. Of course, he’d be rid of having to deal with the Djinn’s antics, but he’d also…

He frowned when he couldn’t pinpoint the emotion that was tied to that thought. 

Yuuri shrugged and walked over to the counter to pull out plates for the three of them. It was probably his anxiety messing with his emotions. Once Viktor was gone, his life would go back to normal and everything would be fine. 

He looked down when Vicchan barked happily at him. 

Well, back to  _ almost _ normal. 

Viktor sat himself back down on a stool and propped his chin on his hands where they were resting on the counter, apparently content to stare at Yuuri while he began setting up for dinner. 

“Do you have to do that?” he asked, setting a plate in front of Viktor. 

“Do what?” Viktor said with a quirk to his lips.  

“That. Stare.” 

“Of course. How could I not?” 

Yuuri nearly dropped the other plate he was carrying at the frankness of the answer. He would never get used to Viktor, even if they had years together.

“You, uh -” he shook his head and tried to fight the blush that was threatening to show on his cheeks. “You need to change. Clothes, I mean.” he said, gesturing at Viktor’s flamboyant outfit that he’d magically woven together the day before. Viktor had already been wearing it that morning when he and Phichit had had tea together, and that was probably what was encouraging Phichit to send him those winky faces over text. 

Viktor looked down at his shirt and pants, and raised an eyebrow. “Why? They’re clean.”

“Yes, but -” Yuuri cleared his throat as he turned to reach for the cups on the top shelf. “You staying in the same clothes while you’re here will… suggest things… to Phichit.”

A mischievous grin had grown on Viktor’s face by the time Yuuri had turned back around. 

“Really?” Viktor dropped his hands and leaned forwards over the counter a few inches. “I don’t understand. What kind of things will it suggest?”

Yuuri took a deep breath and let it out slowly, making himself count to ten as he did so, and hoped that it would prevent either an aneurysm or throwing a cup at Viktor’s face. 

“You know what I’m talking about.”

Viktor held up his hands, an innocent expression immediately plastered on his face. 

“Alright. Your wish is my command.” 

Viktor shook his head with a small chuckle as he pushed the stool back, wandering towards Yuuri’s closed bedroom door. 

“What are you doing?” Yuuri asked, squinting his eyes in suspicion. 

“You said I could do whatever I wanted to your room.” Viktor reminded him and pulled the door open with a wave. “Don’t worry, I’ll change while I’m in here.”

And the door shut behind him with a small click. 

Yuuri placed the last cup on the counter as he fought back the sense of dread that had firmly settled in his mind.

If he used his last wish, he reflected, at least there would be no more of  _ this. _

Why did even thinking that give him a sinking feeling in his stomach? What was it that made his chest feel heavy, when he considered it?

The front door swung open, and Yuuri saw Phichit balancing two boxes of pizza in one hand as he waved at Yuuri. 

“Hey! I hope you guys like peppers, but I also got a plain pepperoni one just in case.” 

Yuuri forced a smile and nodded gratefully. “I’m fine with that! Thanks, Phichit.”

Vicchan, probably half at the smell of food and half at recognizing Phichit, ran up to Yuuri’s roommate, barking cheerfully. 

“Oh!” Phichit’s face lit up at the sight of the big fall of fur and bent down to pet him while keeping  the pizza boxes raised high. “Who’s this, Yuuri?”

Yuuri’s eyes widened as he realized he’d completely forgotten that he was going to have to explain Vicchan to Phichit. 

“Um. This is Vicchan. Vicchan the second,” he corrected. “I uh, got another dog. I hope that’s okay?”

Phichit set the boxes down on the counter with a thud and nodded. 

“Of course that’s okay! Aw, he looks so cute!”

Phichit smiled and casually looked around the kitchen and into the living room. 

“Where’s Viktor?”

Yuuri cleared his throat. “He’ll be here in a second. He’s just -”

Yuuri’s bedroom door opened again as Viktor strutted back out into the kitchen. He was wearing pants that were probably a little bit too big for him around the middle, yet just barely too short, and a t-shirt was extremely recognizable as one of Yuuri’s. 

“Hello again, Phichit!” Viktor said with a wide grin, and adjusted the shirt so it sat better on his shoulders. 

Yuuri felt the other shoe drop as he watched Phichit pressed his lips together in gleeful understanding, and he knew it was way too late to explain anything away. 

“Hey, Viktor!” Phichit looked between the two of them with what appeared to be something like a proud grin, and tapped on the box of pizza. “I brought food.”

Viktor clapped his hands together and tugged the box open, completely oblivious to how much Yuuri just wanted to melt into the floor. 

“Oh, is this pizza?” he asked, lifting a slice into the air. “It’s similar to something I had in Italy a long time ago. Different, though.”

Phichit’s eyes grew wide. 

“Have you never had pizza?” he asked in disbelief. 

“V-Viktor travels a lot.” Yuuri interjected, and grabbed a slice for himself as casually as he could manage, and Viktor nodded along. 

“I do. Not as much as I’d like, though.”

Phichit dropped a some pizza onto his own plate and pulled up a stool. 

“Same. Student budget, right?”

“Oh, yes, it’s terrible,” Viktor said, catching Yuuri’s eye. Yuuri had visions of the pink convertible rising up before him.  _ You lying… Djinn,  _ he thought, as loudly as he could, in case Viktor could somehow pick up on it. 

“So, Viktor, how did you two meet? I forgot to ask.” 

Yuuri froze, cheese dripping off the slice of pizza he had raised midway to his mouth. Meanwhile, Viktor took a slow bite and held up a finger as he seemingly dissected the taste of the food. 

“Not bad.” He set the slice down, and brushed his fingers against the t-shirt. “Well, that’s quite a story, actually. Isn’t it, Yuuri?” 

“Uhhhh…” Yuuri said, aware that he was starting to blush. “Well -”

“Simply put,” Viktor interrupted smoothly, ”there I was, minding my own business, and Yuuri appeared and just immediately captured me.” Viktor winked in Yuuri’s direction. “Though I can’t say I put up much of a fight. He was very intriguing.” 

Phichit put a hand on his cheek. 

“ _ Aw _ .”

“I’ve been making his dreams come true, ever since.” Viktor placed a hand over his heart and bowed his head in mock-humility. 

Yuuri’s face was burning with embarrassment at Viktor’s words, wanting nothing more than to slap a hand over Viktor’s mouth and end the story. 

“He’s being dramatic,” Yuuri said quickly, “It was just at… a coffee shop.”

“Ah, but it was so much  _ more _ than that.” Viktor sighed, basking in the story and how much it was making Yuuri flounder. “It was two very different people meeting in unforeseen circumstances, and making it  _ work. _ ”

Yuuri stared at Viktor in disbelief as he clenched a fist in front of him. 

It seemed utterly ridiculous to him, but Phichit was apparently enthralled. 

“So… can I ask - are you two serious, then?” Phichit asked, eyes wide with hope. 

Viktor opened his mouth slightly - and looked over at Yuuri, searching for an answer with his eyes. 

Yuuri turned his gaze down at the pizza in his hand so he didn’t have to look at either of them as he shook his head. 

“No.” he said, killing any potential in the air around them. “No, this is - this isn’t serious. Viktor is… going to be leaving, soon.”

Silence rang loudly around him as he forced himself to continue eating, trying to ignore the awkward tension he’d just created. 

“Right,” Viktor said curtly. “Of course.”

Yuuri heard Viktor clear his throat and take another bite of pizza. 

For several long moments, they chewed in silence.

“So…” Phichit said eventually.

“Unfortunately, it’s true,” Viktor said, picking his bravado back up from where he’d left off. “I come. I go. I mostly come...”  He winked seductively, and then gave a hard, sidelong glance at Yuuri - seeming to almost enjoy his sudden sputtering - before smoothly continuing. “But that’s just how I live. I’ll be due back home soon.” 

Yuuri nearly groaned out loud, but looked back up and shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t a huge deal.

“Ah,” Phichit said with a slow nod. He flicked a concerned glance at Yuuri. “Well, maybe you can come back soon?”

Viktor waved a hand in the air and shook his head. “Unfortunately not. Capturing me twice is a rare occurrence, I’m afraid.”

Yuuri licked his lips, realizing what he was saying. Of course it was rare to conjure a Djinn twice. After the first time, the Djinn probably learned better how to evade the specific witch. Conjuring a Djinn over and over would result in quite a few wishes, and that was a loophole Viktor had probably learned to close.

Phichit continued eating in silence, and Yuuri was worried that he’d gotten more attached to Viktor in their small amount of time than  _ he  _ had become. 

Yuuri corrected himself. 

Viktor was only an annoyance. A dangerous, animal-loving, word-twisting, confusing, arrogant, peacock-conjuring annoyance, who looked irritatingly good in Yuuri’s t-shirt, even though it didn’t fit at all. Yuuri  _ wasn’t _ attached. 

Phichit finished off his slice of pizza, set another two on his plate, and stood up. “Well, I have some homework I have to do.” he said, and turned to Yuuri. “Did you still want to review my conjuration notes?” 

Yuuri shook his head through the irony. “No thanks, Phichit. I… managed to get in some practice. I think I’ll be okay.”

Phichit paused, looking like he wanted to say more - but instead, he shrugged and walked over to his room, shutting the door behind him. 

“Tactful,” Viktor murmured, bringing a cup up to his lips. 

“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true,” Yuuri shot back in a low voice, though something in the back of his mind insisted otherwise. “Besides, you’re probably used to this.”

“Pretending to be my master’s lover? No, this is actually a first. I’m usually gone within a few hours of being summoned, so improvising like this is different for me.” Viktor said tersely.

Yuuri sighed and picked up his plate, walking over to drop it into the sink with the other self-cleaning dishes. 

“I meant leaving. You must do it all the time.” 

“Yes.” 

Yuuri turned back around to see Viktor gazing out the window at the slowly-setting sun, sitting on his stool with his hands clasped loosely between his knees. He looked soft, hair falling over his face; this was the Viktor that Yuuri found most dangerous, because he seemed  _ least  _ dangerous. Looking at him, the light gentle over his features, Yuuri realised that this was the Viktor he would miss the most.

“What time of year is it?” Viktor asked, as if he genuinely hadn’t noticed, or wasn’t able to guess. 

“April,” Yuuri answered, looking at him warily. “Why?” 

Viktor let out a long breath of air and stretched his arms above his head, showing off just how ill-fitting the t-shirt actually was on him. Maybe it didn’t look  _ all  _ that good.

“I always get conjured in the springtime,” Viktor said, a hint of melancholy in his voice. “It’s been four hundred and fifty years since I’ve seen the winter. I almost forget what snow looks like.”

Yuuri busied himself with putting away the dishes, keeping quiet as Viktor apparently lost himself in thought. 

“Well, maybe next time you’ll get here in the winter,” he said, after the silence became too much. “It’s always winter somewhere in the world.”

Viktor hummed in acknowledgement. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll use my wish tomorrow and you can get out of the springtime.” Yuuri said, trying to be cheerful. 

Viktor stood and yawned. “I think I’m going to go recharge. I’m not used to being in your realm so long.” 

“But it’s only eight o’clock,” Yuuri said as he bent down to pet Vicchan, who was asking for attention. 

Viktor waved a hand dismissively as he opened the door to Yuuri’s bedroom. “Your time means nothing to me.” 

The door shut.

The moment Viktor was out of sight, Yuuri slowly sank to kitchen floor; he leaned up against the drawers, and gathered Vicchan up in his arms, holding him close as the little dog licked his face excitedly. 

It felt like so much had gone wrong in such a small amount of time, and he couldn’t even pinpoint what it was, exactly. Everything up to this point had been such a whirlwind of things Yuuri had never dreamed of - things that he’d only ever heard of in fairy tales. 

But, as Viktor kept reminding him, this was not a fairy tale.

Yuuri scratched his newly reincarnated dog behind the ear and frowned, wondering if he’d ever even thanked Viktor for bringing him back. He didn’t think he had. 

Yuuri wondered if Viktor had ever been thanked.

He chewed on his lip as he tried to think of a way he could thank Viktor properly for what he was doing. Sure, the first wish hadn't really panned out, but Viktor had apologised and had helped him make sure it wouldn’t happen again - and it  _ had  _ looked as though he’d had fun. In the brief memory flashes that Yuuri had, usually in the middle of the night, he was always laughing - and in the pictures, he’d looked downright euphoric at some points, in a way that made Yuuri wish he could remember it. Viktor had also given him his friend back, which was more than he’d been hoping for. 

There was still one wish left with an endless amount of possibility, and it was all because of Viktor. 

A small smile creeped over Yuuri’s face as he absentmindedly played with Vicchan’s white fur. A small plan began to form in his mind. It wasn’t anything big, but it was a small thing that he could do, before they had to say goodbye. 

Maybe Yuuri could be the one to twist things, this time - to do something unexpected. Maybe  _ he _ could grant a wish for  _ Viktor _ .

***

Yuuri finally yawned as he walked into his bedroom, preparing himself for the same extravagant setup that he’d seen in his living room hour before. 

Instead of pillows and silks, however, not much had changed. 

Nothing had, in fact. 

The only thing out of place in the room was a Viktor-sized lump huddled under the covers of Yuuri’s bed, facing the wall. 

Yuuri rubbed at his eyes and admitted defeat. Viktor had won this round, room of pillows or no room of pillows. 

As quietly as he could, Yuuri walked over to his bed and bent down, searching for the extra blanket he kept under the bed for when it got too cold. 

He curled his fingers around it and stealthily grabbed the extra pillow next to Viktor, steeling himself for a night of back pain on the couch. 

“There’s room for two, you know.”

Yuuri jumped; he hadn’t realized that Viktor was awake. 

He paused, waiting for Viktor to say something else, but silence was all he was greeted with. If Viktor wanted to say anything else, he was keeping it to himself. 

Yuuri looked at the bed and realized Viktor was right. He’d been generous enough to only take half of the bed - and while it wasn’t the biggest mattress in the world, there was plenty of room for the two of them, should he choose to share. 

Comfortable mattress, or awful couch?

He could feel his heartbeat against his ribcage as he set the pillow back down on the closest half of the bed, and gingerly climbed in next to Viktor. Even with the offer, however, Viktor had completely laid a claim on the entirety of the blankets that were already on the bed, so Yuuri tossed the extra one over himself and faced the opposite direction, their backs almost touching. 

“If I wake up and I’ve been turned into a pig, I’m never going to forgive you,” he mumbled, tucking the blanket under his chin.

The bed shook slightly as Viktor chuckled.

“Go to sleep, Sleeping Beauty.”

Yuuri smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

Sunday mornings were always bittersweet.

On one hand, they represented the last stroke of freedom before another week of attending classes and forcing himself to study - but on the other hand, one more day for himself was one more day for himself.

“Yuuri, where are we going?”

Yuuri looked over his shoulder to where Viktor was currently untangling himself from Vicchan’s leash. Vicchan seemed to be a tad more hyper as a Pomeranian, but also this was now the second walk he’d ever been on since he died, so Yuuri supposed it was only fair.

“If I tell you that, you’ll make us skip the walking and instantly transport us there,” Yuuri said, pleased to hear Viktor hum begrudgingly behind him - the sound of his plan being foiled.

In the long run, it probably would have been smarter for him to take Viktor up on his easy instant teleportation abilities, seeing as Yuuri would need every bit of his strength for what he was planning - but it was also such a beautiful day out.

Besides, it wouldn’t hurt Viktor to learn some patience.

“But your dog seems to very persistent in his attempts to trip me,” Viktor said, twirling in place in an attempt to catch up to Vicchan - who barked and ran in circles around his legs.

Yuuri grinned to himself, and thought that Vicchan had the right idea.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and slowed his steps so they he could walk in time with Viktor and Vicchan.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there,” he said, and cocked his head. “Are those sunglasses on your head?”

Viktor smiled and pulled them down from where they were resting on his hair, until he was wearing them properly. “I saw them on a man five minutes ago and I liked them.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes and rested a hand on Viktor’s arm, steering him towards the entrance of the park.

Waking up that morning had been something that he’d thought he’d dread, but when he’d rolled over and found that Viktor had already left - and was probably in the kitchen from the sound of it - some part of him had been disappointed.

That was something he hadn’t been expecting.

It was probably better that it had happened that way, in any case, for a variety of reasons. For one thing, Yuuri was fairly certain he’d have managed to create an awkward moment out of nowhere, as per usual. And for another thing - well, if Viktor had been dangerous in the soft sunset, Yuuri thought he’d probably be fatal in the morning light, waking up and blinking slowly and smiling.

This park was one of Yuuri’s favorite places to go to in Detroit, especially when he got stressed. It didn’t have much in the way of trees that blossomed, but even then, it reminded him of the trees that he’d pass in Hasetsu. Flowers bloomed in tiny gatherings, some even swaying their pretty heads and flourishing around the park benches.

Yuuri pointed out a few patches of daisies as they walked down a pathway towards the center of the park.

“Phichit grew those last month,” he said conversationally.

Viktor looked over his sunglasses at the flowers. “A fan of nature-magic, indeed.”

“It’s his favorite kind.”

Yuuri jumped a little when he felt an arm slide around his elbow, but quickly realized that it was just Viktor attempting to walk arm in arm with him.

Yuuri ducked his head and tried to keep his steps in time with Viktor as the breeze pushed his hair away from his eyes.

“Viktor?” Yuuri asked.

“Hmm?”

He licked his lips apprehensively. “What’s it like, being a Djinn?”

Yuuri didn’t look over at him, not wanting to see the confused look he was sure Viktor would be giving him. There was a slight hitch in Viktor’s step that Yuuri wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been hyper-aware of his pace in that moment, trying to match it.

“Ah, well,” Viktor tugged on the leash gently as the Pomeranian got distracted by a park bench. “It’s the high life, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.” He looked over and gave Yuuri a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“And what’s your definition of ‘the high life’?”

Viktor ran a hand through his hair - which was not without some difficulty, seeing as there was a leash wrapped around it with a very hyper Pomeranian attached to it - and let out a long breath.

“Oh, you know. This realm gives me a lot of freedom to realize my ultimate potential. You may have noticed that my power doesn’t work quite like a witch, so I have some flexibility when it comes to myself.”

“Mmmhmm.” Yuuri nodded. That had been one of the first things he’d noticed.

“As a Djinn, I get whatever I want whenever I want.” Viktor smiled wryly, side-eyeing Yuuri. “Well, almost.”

Now, Yuuri realized that he hadn’t known Viktor all that long, but he felt that he’d had a lot of experience in detecting his acting voice by this point, and none of what he’d said had felt completely genuine.

“Yes, I can tell that you really enjoy that part of being a Djinn,” Yuuri said wryly.

Viktor chuckled waved his hand once, grasping at nothing as the air around him wove together until a single red rose formed in his hand. He held it out to Yuuri.

“I do.”

A light blush crawled across Yuuri’s face as he wrapped his fingers around the thornless stem, accepting the gift with a thankful nod.

“But when one can do basically anything, boredom can come quickly,” Viktor said with a long sigh. “It didn’t take me long to understand the basics of this realm, even when I haven’t visited in a hundred years.”

The knot that had formed in Yuuri’s stomach since Viktor’s arrival wound tighter at his words. Of course Viktor was bored here. He didn’t actually know much about the realm that Viktor came from, but it had to be much more exciting than his own, in order to house Djinn and other demons.

How Viktor hadn’t instantly died of boredom the moment he saw Yuuri was a complete mystery.

“I do… miss this realm. When I have to leave it, that is.”

Yuuri looked over when he heard a slight change in Viktor’s tone.

“My home realm can be… restricting,” he continued, choosing his words with more care than usual, and he gently unlooped his arm from where it was hooked around Yuuri’s. “So, this one is a nice change. The only issue is I leave it more often than I come, so as soon I get attached to p- well, to _things_ , by the time I get back, they’re usually gone.”

He shrugged and cleared his throat, the false tone leaking back into his words as he stretched his arms behind his head. “But the good outweighs the bad, obviously. Being drunk on power can be very exhilarating, and I don’t mind the leaving part as much as I probably should.”

Viktor smirked and gave Yuuri his signature wink.

It didn’t carry much weight this time.

“But enough about me,” Viktor waved his free hand dismissively, “Let’s talk about you. Tell me what it’s like to be a witch and to have limitations.”

Yuuri considered pushing for more answers, but there was a fragility about Viktor’s act, today, that he didn’t quite know how to handle. Obscurely - irrelevantly - it occurred to Yuuri that while he had woken up with Viktor gone, Viktor must have woken up with Yuuri sleeping next to him.

He wondered how that had felt. Probably like nothing much - why should it mean anything, to Viktor? And yet… Yuuri twirled the rose between his thumb and index finger. An easy gift for Viktor to pull out of the air, inspired by the gardens around them, or - something more? He met Viktor’s eyes, and saw it there: the sorrow in the blue.

Yuuri decided to allow the distraction, and answer Viktor’s question.

“Well,” Yuuri stared down at the rose, rolling it in between his fingers as he spoke. “It means I have to work hard to do what I do. Every spell takes energy and as long as you exercise your mind enough and understand your limitations, you can accomplish most tasks.”

Viktor hummed. “Must be difficult. I can’t imagine having to… work. Everything I do is directly linked to what I am. No struggle necessary.”

Yuuri nodded slowly, the constant state of awe he felt about Viktor not receding. He’d spent years struggling and studying just to become a mere fraction of what Viktor was, and it still meant nothing as long as he was there.

Viktor paused in his step and pointed a finger at Yuuri. “But, because of that, your magic means so much more. You put yourself into it. You feed it. You work for it. It becomes a _part_ of what you are instead of _making_ you what you are. You can… give of yourself to it, and take from it. A relationship on your terms, not a state of being. I envy you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri frowned and shook his head in disbelief. “ _You_ envy _me?”_

“Of course,” Viktor cocked his head to the side and stared like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “If I were to decide to rain fire on all of this,” he gestured towards the trees that surrounded them, “Then I could do so with a snap of my fingers.”

“Please don’t,” Yuuri said, only half sure that Viktor was just trying to make a point.

Viktor smirked. “I won’t. But I _could_ and it wouldn’t mean anything to me. It’s not impressive. It’s the easiest thing in the world.”

“Then what does mean something to you?” Yuuri asked, petting the petals on the rose absentmindedly.

“You.”

Yuuri blinked in surprise and almost dropped the rose.

“Me?”

“You. Your magic. Your being. Now if _you_ were to attempt something like that and succeed, I would be impressed. I would… feel… happy for you. I would care. Where there is the chance of failure, there is the rush of success.” Viktor raised an eyebrow at Yuuri. “Not that I would recommend it. I wouldn’t want you to accidentally get yourself killed.”

“Oh.” Yuuri looked around at the green he’d spent so much time in over the past few years. “I like this park too much to do that.”

Viktor shrugged lightly.

“Everything comes to an end eventually.”

“Even you?”

“Even me.” He paused. “But I get to see a lot of other things ending, first.”

Silence echoed as they continued walking down the pathway that led deeper into the park. It wasn’t an extremely large park by any means, but it was enough that they could stroll for a few minutes without talking before they came to Yuuri’s favorite spot.

The pond in the park was also not very big, but it was Yuuri’s favorite nonetheless. Birds built their homes in the trees around here, and their songs were a serene background noise for when he needed to unwind.

“Why are we here, Yuuri?” Viktor asked curiously as he bent down to let Vicchan run around free in the park.

“This is my favorite place in my favorite park, here.” Yuuri said, one hand awkwardly rubbing at his shoulder. “It calms me down when I need it to. When I have to make a decision, or when I have to do something difficult.”

Viktor raised an eyebrow. “I see. Have you thought of a wish, then?”

Yuuri nodded slowly, his heart beating fast. He’d had a few thoughts, one of which was wishing to free him - but that would be completely unfair to Viktor. It was obvious that he liked being a Djinn, and taking that away from him without his permission would be something that Yuuri just couldn’t do. Besides, he didn’t even know if it was possible to free him from what he _was,_ inherently. Yuuri himself couldn’t be freed from being human.

“Yes. But I, uh, I want to show you something first.”

A light seemed to gleam in Viktor’s eyes as he folded his arms in front of his chest, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Oh?”

Yuuri cleared his throat and flexed his hands a few times. It was a spell he’d attempted before a few times, and had succeeded, but it usually left him exhausted enough afterwards that he didn’t do it very often, even when Phichit tried to bribe him.

This was different, though.

This was a favor for someone who never had favors done for them.

“Give me just a few minutes.”

Viktor gestured in a ‘please do continue’ sort of way, and Yuuri walked towards the edge of the lake, stopping just before the water hit the rim.

_Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

Yuuri adjusted his glasses and began reciting the spell under his breath, feeling the ball of magical, powerful warmth inside of him begin to grow - expanding and pulsing, until it filled every inch of him.

Rubbing his hands together, he breathed and closed his eyes. Like breathing out, he let the warmth that he’d fanned to heat leave his body through his hands, as he gestured towards the sky.

He smiled as he felt the temperature around him slowly drop, and his lips begin to chap at the rapid change.

The birds stopped singing.

The sky darkened.

And the first snowflakes began to fall.

Yuuri felt the spell draining him as he came close to completing it; he opened his eyes, and with one last burst of energy - in one smooth movement - he crouched down and flung his power out across the surface of the pond below his fingertips.

The water around him almost immediately turned to ice, the solid white frost starkly contrasting the ripples across the rest of the pond, where snowflakes were falling and melting. Tendrils of white curled outwards from the epicenter, freezing the water a few feet a time, until the entire pond was completely covered in a thick layer of ice.

Yuuri stood shakily as the magic ended, already feeling the effects of such a large-scale spell, and brushed the thin layer of snow out of his hair. He smiled tiredly and turned, looking for Viktor.

“Uh, so -” he said, hearing the weariness in his own voice. “It’s not fire raining down from the sky or anything, but -”

Yuuri cut himself off when he saw Viktor, standing palms upward and staring up at the covered sky as snowflakes gently landed on his face, either melting on impact or gathering in his eyelashes. He looked - Yuuri had never seen him look so _young,_ so taken aback.

“V-Viktor?” Yuuri said, more tentatively. “Are you... okay?”

“Did you do this for _me_?”

Viktor kept his hands open and towards the sky, but dropped his head down to look at Yuuri.

It was an expression that he hadn’t seen on Viktor before, but one that Yuuri had felt many times in the past two days.  

Awe.

There was nothing Yuuri could do to stop the blush, this time, as he anxiously ran his fingers up and down the rose stem.

“I, uh - yes? You said that you wished you could see winter again, so I thought that I could give that to you.” Yuuri chewed on his lower lip and ducked his head down, staring at the ground. Was Viktor mad? Was he offended that Yuuri had thought he needed this, or by the offering of a magic that had to look paltry compared to something Viktor himself could conjure?

The sound of fast footsteps racing towards him urged him to quickly look up again and take a small step backwards towards the frozen pond, as he saw Viktor running his direction with a determined look on his face.

Oh, _no._ Mad. Definitely mad. Viktor was actually going to hurt him.

“Viktor -” Yuuri held up his hands, “wait, I -”

And then Viktor was crashing into him, but the impact wasn’t a violent one. It was soft and safe; strong arms wrapped around him in an embrace. There was a moment of confusion - and then he was falling backwards, as warm lips covered his own.

Yuuri’s eyes flew open in surprise as they he toppled slowly - more slowly than was physically possible.

Magic, on a few levels, was happening.

For some unknown reason, Yuuri Katsuki was being kissed by an all-powerful Djinn, and for a reason that was slightly less unknown, he was kissing back.

The slow fall continued for a few more breathless moments until they were rested gently against the newly frozen ice, and it was only then that Viktor pulled back and Yuuri realized he had a hand tangled in his silver hair.

“You are incredible, Yuuri,” Viktor murmured, staring down at him with more warmth in his eyes than Yuuri had ever seen. He curled one elegant finger, and brushed a snowflake off Yuuri’s cheek, watched it melt for a moment on his own skin - before his eyes were back on Yuuri. “This... is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” He sounded almost choked, as though he were feeling too much to speak clearly. “Thank you.”

Yuuri flushed deeper and slowly let his hand fall from Viktor’s hair to shoulder, struggling to differentiate between the warmth of this moment and the warmth he felt when casting a spell. It was all magic - it was all light and strength, humming through him. “I just wanted to be able to grant a wish of _yours_ , for once.”

Viktor let his forehead drop onto Yuuri’s collarbone at Yuuri’s words, causing him to shiver as breath tickled his neck. “Right. Wishes. So, about your last one,” he said, in tone that sounded almost reluctant - but it couldn't be that. Viktor never did anything he didn’t want to do, right? He always got what he wanted, he’d said so himself. If he was bringing up the last wish - now, of all times - it was because he wanted to.

Yuuri’s feelings of elation deflated.

Of course.

Viktor would grant the final wish and disappear back into his own realm, and off into a new adventure with less boredom than this one. The kiss had probably been a final goodbye for Yuuri’s sake, a granted wish without the official seal.

What was it that Viktor had said?

Everything comes to an end eventually.

Even him.

Viktor rolled off him and held a hand out to help Yuuri back onto his feet.

“What have you thought of?”

Yuuri took a few shaky steps off of the ice, leading Viktor to safer ground, and he realized just how tired he was. He’d known that the spell drained him, but he’d forgotten just how much.

If he attempted to use his wish to free Viktor, there was always the chance that Viktor would be angry about it, or that there would be some sort of twist that hurt him instead. Not to mention the fact that if he was free, Yuuri would probably never see him again.

Yuuri _wanted_ to see him again. Wanted it so badly that it ached. That was what it was - the nameless pang, the feeling that had pushed at him so much, recently. It was a feeling of not wanting to let go. A feeling of _stay, stay, stay._ Whenever Yuuri tried to picture enjoying the rewards of his last wish, it felt utterly joyless to imagine it without Viktor there, too. It made him want to curl up and never move again.

He looked at Viktor, now, watching him steadily. He was so - so beautiful, and so wonderful - and Yuuri cared about him. _Stay, stay, stay._

But Viktor couldn’t stay. He was going to go, and he was going to take the light in Yuuri’s life with him when he went.

For the first time in his life, Yuuri decided to be completely and utterly selfish.

“You told me that this wasn’t a fairy tale,” Yuuri said, shuffling his feet as he spoke. “But with everything that’s happened… it’s kind of felt like one.”

Viktor shrugged his shoulders with a bashful smile. “I didn’t want you to get your hopes up.”

Yuuri let out a breath, his heart aching because he _knew_ this couldn’t last. Viktor became bored easily, and Yuuri was not an incredibly exciting person. Viktor would grow bored of him faster than he could teleport across the world.

This was better for both of them, but especially for Viktor.

Yuuri was going to grant him another wish, besides the snow: a way out of this mess that they’d made.

“I wish,” Yuuri licked his lips as Viktor smiled encouragingly, though even the smile seemed plastered.

“I wish that when this is all over, I won’t miss you.”

All emotion vanished from Viktor’s face, the moment the wish left Yuuri’s lipis.

“Yuuri, no - why?”

Viktor’s face contorted as the pain that always came seemed seal the deal on his chest, completing their three-wish arrangement. He grasped at his chest and stared back at Yuuri, sorrow and pain etched into every inch of his face.  

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri whispered, tears threatening to spill.

“No -” Yuuri watched as Viktor’s face hardened and black wisps quickly began wrapping themselves around him, starting at his hands and working their way up to his torso and down until he was completely engulfed in the semi-transparent smoke. Yuuri could only just make out Viktor’s face behind it all.

“ _No_ -” A hand reached out, and then was gone; the black mist dissipated, leaving nothing behind.

It was only then that Yuuri finally allowed himself to break. He sank into the snow, crumpling like a broken toy, and wept.

He cried, and cried, waiting for it to happen - for the wish to take effect, and pull his sadness out of him. Take away the hurt, the sensation of missing; take away the fact that just existing here, without Viktor beside him for the first time in days, felt sickeningly out of balance. It would fade, he told himself. He’d wished it this way; he’d seen the mark appear on Viktor’s skin. It had to fade…

Would he even still be himself, without this feeling? Yuuri found he didn’t care. It hurt so badly that he only wanted it to _go_. Viktor was gone, and never coming back. And Yuuri could just as well be anyone, anything - it didn’t matter, not anymore. Would the twist be that he’d have no heart left? Would that be as much of a blessing as it seemed, right now?

It was several minutes, or perhaps hours, even, before Yuuri’s shoulders stopped shaking. He felt as though he could cry for years, and not touch the sadness that ached within him, cold and raw as ice in his chest. He wiped away the tears with his sleeve, still shaking, freezing from the inside out.

What was it Viktor had said to him, after that first wish? _Normally, this is very fun for me._ At least now, Viktor would be able to move on and keep doing things he enjoyed - without Yuuri making it difficult for him. Yuuri tried to comfort himself with that thought.

Yuuri reached down and grabbed at the leash Viktor had left behind - remembering Viktor caught in its twists gave him a moment of pain too great to move through, but it passed - and he called for Vicchan, once he was composed enough. He turned away from the rose, where it had fallen on the ice.

He stopped in his tracks and dropped his face in his hands again, guilt and confusion threading through the misery like cracks in the sheen of frosted sorrow in his chest.

The last wish. It wasn’t working.


	6. Chapter 6

“Congratulations, Leo. A perfectly summoned demon.” 

Yuuri looked up from where he’d let his head drop in his arms, to see a small, shadowy form stalk around the inside of the conjuration circle at the front of the classroom. 

Leo, who’d been taking his turn at the exam, grinned widely and brushed the hair back out of his eyes. He sat cross-legged a few feet away from the creature. From the sound of it, he had had taken the shortest amount of time to conjure his demon out of everyone so far - and he looked pretty pleased with himself. 

“Thanks, Professor Cialdini,” Leo said, a little breathless from completing the spell, but otherwise looking as enthusiastic as ever.  

“Now, please send it back to its own realm, and go sit back your seat. Congratulations on a job well done.” Professor Cialdini clapped his hands in approval, prompting yet another round of applause from the class. Yuuri tried not to roll his eyes, and clapped along even though he was tired of it. He didn’t begrudge Leo his moment - he just wanted to be gone from this place, have the conjuration over with. 

It had been just shy of a week since Yuuri had made his final wish, and so far it seemed like it had been a complete waste. 

He knew that there was always a twist to these wishes, maybe a twist that Viktor didn’t even completely control, but to just… not grant it? That was some awful kind of magic. It almost made him regret using his third wish. He definitely wouldn’t be missing Viktor if he’d just refused to wish for anything - and he also wouldn’t be waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, seeing over and over again the look on Viktor’s shadow-swallowed face before he vanished back to the dark realm.

Yuuri sighed.

Not that it mattered. He knew Viktor would have had to go eventually, after all; he couldn’t have held on indefinitely. So - of all the ways it could have ended - it hadn’t been so wrong to use the wish to try to make it easier on himself. 

Too bad it hadn’t worked. 

In the short time that he’d been with Viktor, he’d somehow filled a gap that Yuuri hadn’t realized was missing his life. Half of him wished that he’d never practiced the spell that night, so that he’d never had to have known about the empty hole - and the other half was mad that he hadn’t been able to fill it again, or at least cover it over, with his final wish. 

_ I wish that I won’t miss you once you’ve left. _

But - Yuuri  _ did  _ miss him. 

Viktor had been a thorn in his side from the moment that he’d appeared, but he’d also been more honest with him and more thoughtful than anyone had been in a long time. When he’d upset Yuuri, he hadn’t brushed it off, or acted like it was Yuuri’s fault for being upset - he’d been truthful, but he’d apologised, and he’d done all he could to set it right. And from that first confusion, out of the soil of the mistake, something had grown - grown like one of Phichit’s plants, tender and green and uncertain.

And now it was gone. And it  _ hurt. _

Would it really have been so hard to simply take away that pain from him?

Not only did Yuuri miss him, but he still felt guilt constrict inside of him every time he thought of Viktor’s eyes peering through the dark mist that would soon claim him, betrayal etched onto his face as he disappeared from this reality. 

It wasn’t like Viktor was going to miss _him,_ though. He was used to goodbyes; he came and went, he’d said so himself. Yes, he’d said that Yuuri mattered to him - he’d even - he’d even _kissed_ Yuuri, but he’d also reminded Yuuri multiple times that _this wasn’t a fairy tale._ There could be no happily ever after; his demonic nature wouldn’t allow it. Yuuri would have been selfish, and foolish, to expect any mirror for his feelings in Viktor; he knew that. He’d set Viktor free of any expectation in his last wish, an act that should have relieved Viktor’s sorrow. So why, on the contrary, had Yuuri seen so much hurt?

Part of him wondered, for the thousandth time, if maybe he should have just not used his last wish. That would have been so simple. He could have kept telling Viktor he would, and then kept him there forever. But not only would that go against who he was as a person; he also wouldn’t have been able to stand watching Viktor slowly get more and more bored of him as time went on.

“Next is Katsuki, Yuuri.” 

Yuuri blinked, feeling a wave of anxiety roll over him as he slowly stood up from his seat. It was familiar enough, now, and so small compared to the weight of his feelings about Viktor, that Yuuri greeted it with a kind of dull irritation.

Phichit patted him on the arm and gave him a thumbs up, and Yuuri made his way to the front of the room, where a conjuration circle and lit candles had already been prepared for the purpose of their exam. 

“Whenever you’re ready, Yuuri.” 

Yuuri nodded at his professor, only half-listening as he sat down in front of the circle so that his profile was facing the rest of the classroom. On his left, his classmates watched silently.

It was fine. This was going to be fine. He was going to conjure the first demon he felt with a very low sense of self-preservation and that was going to be it. If he could conjure an all-powerful Djinn then he could conjure a simple demon. 

Piece of cake. 

Yuuri rubbed his palms against his jeans, wiping the sweat off of his palms before facing them upwards and focusing on his breathing. 

_ Breathe in.  _

_ Breathe out.  _

He pressed his lips together, trying to get all thoughts of Viktor out of his mind as his chest rose and fell in careful meditation. A blank mind was a mind that was easier to cast with. 

Tugging on the small ball of warmth inside of him, he was surprised to find that he was already feeling the sense of lightheadedness that came with the thinning between the realms. This was much easier than last time. 

The moment he felt his mind snap to the other realm, he screwed his face up and concentrated on perceiving any possible targets around him. 

Yuuri frowned, almost crying out, as he was hit with a sudden wave of emotion that wasn’t his own. 

Sadness?

This realm was washed in it. 

As far as he knew, emotions weren’t something that came with different planes of existence, unless it was something he personally was feeling. And yes, he was already sad - breaking over it - but this sadness felt different, outside of himself; this was unusual. 

It wasn’t difficult to track the source of emotion; it was powerfully felt enough that it left a clear trail, and Yuuri simply had to follow it like a leash to a dog, and find whatever creature was exuding melancholy.

He searched for a few moments, not more, and discovered it - made shapeless by sorrow, indistinct and barely moving, grey as a dull raincloud. There was no sound, on this plane - but its sadness was so palpable, so livid, that Yuuri could almost hear it. He watched, and it didn’t move at all.

Yuuri wasn’t an expert on demons, even after the events of the past week - but he knew that they were tricky bastards that would sometimes do whatever it took to prevent capture. This could easily be a trap, or some sort of self-defense mechanism that Yuuri hadn’t been trained on how to deal with. 

Too late for that, now. 

He moved hesitantly forward, and tilted his head as he swung a mental lasso around the creature. It stayed solid for only a moment before falling to the ground like water, hissing to steam and vanishing when it hit the shadowy floor. He grimaced and tried again, but the creature shrugged off the attempt like it was nothing; like it was barely even paying attention to him. 

Yuuri’s palms curled into fists as he concentrated, but each effort he made proved futile, as whatever being this was simply  _ refused _ to even acknowledge him or his attempts at capture. 

Another wave of sadness permeated the air. Yuuri, tired and on the point of giving up, responded with his own wave of bitter frustration aimed at the demon.  _ You don’t know sadness,  _ he wanted to shout at it.  _ You don’t know hurt. You’re a demon. You don’t know sacrifice, or loss. Shut  _ **_up_ ** _. _

That seemed to do it. 

The creature whipped around, and a silent cacophony of  _ anger _ surged forward like a wave, wrapping around Yuuri and pinning him down, instantly restraining him from making any move at all. Yuuri, eyes wide, struggled for breath. 

He struggled against the bonds, and then - as quickly as it came -  the anger was infiltrated with confusion. That was all Yuuri needed to break free of the weakened grasp and attempt another lasso, using the whirl of confusion and anger around the creature against it, making it unable to fight back as effectively. 

Finally, after a few more moments of struggling, the demon collapsed on itself, giving up on fighting back - and Yuuri took that moment to yank it back into the other realm, his own realm, while securely fastening it to the inside of the conjuration circle. 

Yuuri gasped triumphantly when he felt the spell succeed. He had no idea what he’d caught; for just a moment, he enjoyed the quietness of the dark behind his eyelids.

He opened his eyes, though, when he heard the class around him murmuring -

And there, in full naked glory once again, sitting hunched over and staring back at Yuuri in disbelief - was  _ Viktor _ . 

“V-Viktor?” he asked, not sure if his eyes were just playing some sort of cruel trick on him. 

“No, no,” Viktor murmured, backing to the edge of the circle. “This doesn’t happen twice. It  _ can’t _ happen twice.” 

Yuuri’s eyes widened at the sound of his voice, sure now that this was the same person that he’d managed to conjure before. 

“Viktor, how did you - how did I -”

“ _ Viktor? _ ” 

Both Viktor and Yuuri turned to look at Phichit, who was now standing up staring at the two of them like he’d just put a piece of the puzzle together. 

“I knew there was something more going on!” Phichit clapped his hands together. Yuuri opened his mouth to try to respond, and found he had no idea what to say. His heart was pounding; he looked back to Viktor, a silent plea in his eyes.

_ Do something. Make sense of this. _

Professor Cialdini took a hesitant step forward, looking bewildered as he regarded a type of demon he’d probably never seen before. 

“Excuse me, what -”

Viktor waved a hand, and suddenly everyone in the room froze in their place - not a single hair on their heads - moving before crossing his arms in front of his chest and assuming a sulking position. 

“Did you bring me back just to get rid of me again?” he murmured, turning his head so it was facing away from Yuuri. 

“What are you -” Yuuri frowned, a little taken aback at the accusation. “I wasn’t  _ trying _ to conjure you! It just kind of happened by accident. Again.”

“Oh, so this isn’t even an apology?” Viktor let out a huff of air and folded his knees against his chest, flopping his arms over them. “Wonderful.”

“An apology? Why are  _ you _ the one that gets an apology? You’re the one who kept saying this wasn’t a fairy tale! You’re the one who made me realise you didn’t want a happy ending!” Yuuri stood up and walked right up to the edge of the conjuration circle, even though he knew there wasn’t any real barrier between them. 

“Well, maybe I lied _.” _ Viktor shot back angrily. “It’s what I  _ do.  _ I lie and I pretend and I twist things. Welcome to the life of a Djinn.”

Yuuri ran a hand through his hair in frustration, trying to ignore the eeriness of his entire class frozen in place, all eyes facing him. 

“I don’t understand why you’re mad. You said that you’re used to leaving.” 

Viktor let out a long sigh and flopped onto the ground pathetically. “I  _ lied _ .”

Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat. 

“....you - you wanted to stay?”

“Of course I wanted to stay. I always want to stay. But especially -” Viktor cut himself off before snapping his fingers and making a blanket appear over his shoulders to wrap around himself. “- especially after meeting you. But then you made me grant that awful wish.”

Yuuri watched as Viktor folded in on himself and covered his face in the blanket - one that looked suspiciously like the blanket Yuuri had on his own bed. 

“I hope you’ve been completely content not missing me,” said the muffled voice.

“I haven’t been,” Yuuri said softly, and crouched down next to the ball of blankets. “At all.” 

There was a pause.

“Well, good,” said Viktor, without much bite.

“I’ve… missed you a lot, actually. I’ve been - I’ve been -” Yuuri tried to find a way to sum up his hopelessness, his joylessness; the worry in Phichit’s eyes, the guilt, the hurt. He couldn’t. “I missed you,” he managed to say again, hoping it was enough.

Viktor peeked his head out, confusion evident in his red-rimmed eyes. “You did?” His eyes went wide as he scrambled to his feet, the blanket tumbling back onto the ground. 

Yuuri averted his eyes, and stood up straight too, so that his eye-level was at a safer area of Viktor’s body.

“So, it worked?” Viktor exclaimed, a hand touching his chest as he looked down at it. “It really worked? I thought it couldn’t have -”

“You - wait. What?” Yuuri frowned as he adjusted his glasses, squinting at the markings on Viktor’s chest. 

Instead of a full, completed roman numeral  III branded into his chest to signify the completion of all three wishes, the very last marking looked like it had only been half-seared into the skin. It started from the top, but faded into nothing - like a hot iron had been tilted onto the flesh, and had been knocked away before it could finish. 

“Viktor… what did you do?” Yuuri whispered, stepping just inside of the conjuration circle for a better look. 

Viktor cleared his throat, his fingers still tracing over the partially-formed scar on his chest. 

“I... heard your wish, and - decided I didn’t want to grant it.”  His voice was soft, like a child that was afraid he was about to get chastised. “When I felt the seal start, I thought I could stop it from happening if I went back to my own realm where I have no corporeal form. I guess... I was right?” 

Yuuri reached out to touch the mark, but drew his hand back as soon as he realized what he was doing.  He wasn’t sure what grounds he and Viktor were on, at the moment. 

“Why didn’t you want to grant it?” Yuuri asked, bending down to pick up the blanket and handed it to Viktor. 

“Because,” Viktor took the offered blanket and hugged it close to his chest. “Because I’m used to being selfish. And if I had to leave I just… I wanted…”

The rest of the sentence was drowned within the folds of the blanket as he ducked down and pressed his face into it where he’d gathered it in his arms. 

Yuuri cocked his head to the side and took a deep, calming breath before reaching out and resting a hand on the side of Viktor’s face. “Please tell me?”

The skin was warm under his touch, and about as soft as it looked. 

Viktor slowly tilted his head back up and closed his eyes, his cheek leaning into the touch. “I wanted to feel remembered. I knew I would miss you and the thought of you not missing me back hurt too much.”

Yuuri stared back and found that his mouth was unable to form words. He hadn’t realized that his wish would have hurt Viktor as much as it did - and if he had, he never would have done it. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that the powerful Djinn that he’d accidentally conjured into his life - with much better things to do than hang around with Yuuri Katsuki - would  _ miss _ him. 

_ Him. _

“Viktor, I’m - I’m sorry.” Yuuri managed. “The things you said - and I’m just… I didn’t think that it would matter to you.”

“You undersell yourself, Yuuri.” Viktor pressed his hand against Yuuri’s where is was still rested on his cheek and pried it away, but didn’t let go. “You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met - and that’s saying quite a lot, as I’ve been around for thousands of years. I would  _ want _ to be missed by you.” 

The words, theoretically, made sense to Yuuri. But in this context, he didn’t understand. Yuuri wasn’t anything special, and he definitely didn’t deserve this kind of high praise. 

“Why?”

“It amazes me that you can’t see it.” Viktor huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “You were the first, Yuuri. The first to not immediately wish for something entirely selfish. The first to get to know me. The first to give  _ me _ a wish.” He paused as a sad smile cracked through the surface. “The first to make me truly care.”

Yuuri took another step forward and pulled Viktor into a hug, wrapping his arms around him tightly - and no longer caring about something that seemed as trivial as Viktor’s lack of clothing, at the moment. There was a brief pause before a pair of strong arms wrapped around him in return. 

“I wish that you could stay forever,” Yuuri murmured. 

Viktor’s muscles grew taut around him.

“Do you mean that?” he asked, sounding surprised.

Yuuri pulled away slightly to look up at Viktor who hovered over him by just a few inches and nodded fervently. “Yes. I do.”

Viktor’s face twisted in the - now familiar - look of pain, as he gasped and quickly stepped away from Yuuri, a hand pressed against his chest. He pulled his hand away, breathing deeply and staring at the the now-completed burn, before turning back to look at Yuuri with a loud burst of laughter. 

“You  _ do. _ ” 

Viktor grinned widely and pulled Yuuri into another hug. 

“Oh, this is going to be so exciting! But I don’t have long. Give me just a moment.”

He broke away as Yuuri watched him pace around the circle in confusion.

“What are you doing? What’s going on?”

“Granting your wish.” 

Yuuri blinked, his mind already racing as Viktor’s movements grew more erratic. 

“Which one?” 

“Both of them!”

Viktor laughed as he lifted up a hand in front of his face, and to Yuuri’s horror, it looked like it was dripping some kind of silver substance in a rapid stream. 

“What is  _ that?”  _ Yuuri asked in disbelief, watching as it dripped from Viktor’s hand and hit the ground, disappearing instantly. 

“A new beginning, Yuuri. Ah, before it’s too late -” Viktor smiled widely as he pointed at the frozen figure of Yuuri’s professor, and a spark flew from his hand and landed on him. “You passed your test -” another spark, “- and we’ll need an alibi.” 

A shower of sparks across the classroom. 

“Perfect. What else am I forgetting?”

Yuuri’s mouth hung open as more of the semi-transparent liquid began to drip from both of Viktor’s hands and was now travelling up his arms, spilling from some unseen source. 

“Clothes!” Viktor snapped his fingers and looked around the room at the students, studying their attire before a dark blue top and grey pants instantly appeared on him. “I always forget that one.”

He tapped on his forehead and looked over at Yuuri, gesturing at himself. “This form. You still like it, yes?”

Yuuri blinked. “Wh- yes? I don’t understand. What are you doing?” 

He came closer, moving quickly, his body a tightly-wound spring of sudden energy; he placed both hands on either of Yuuri’s shoulders, and he smiled at him. The fatal smile - the soft one. “Thank you, Yuuri.”

“Are you okay?” Yuuri asked desperately, reaching to cover some of the silver with a hand, but it continued to fall like nothing was there. 

“I’ve never felt better,” Viktor pulled a hand back. “OK. Let’s see. I have about ten seconds left before everything changes. I’ve got time to do one last thing.”

Yuuri watched as Viktor reached out with his fingers in a way that he now recognized, and pulled a single, beautiful rose from the fabric of existence - blue this time - and held it out to Yuuri, the silver flowing from him rapidly. 

“For you,” he said softly. 

Yuuri wrapped his fingers around the stem and held it the rose close to his chest, still watching Viktor with his heart thudding fast and a frown on his face, as the Djinn gazed back serenely. 

“Three, two -” Viktor said, and squeezed Yuuri’s free hand, “one -” 

And the world began to move once more. 

“- were you asking me about again?”

The sound of Professor Cialdini’s voice rung through what had just been a near-dead silence, causing Yuuri to jump. 

“Ah, Professor!” Viktor waved enthusiastically at him, and then the class. “You were just letting me take Yuuri out for a post-exam treat, now that he has finished. He did wonderfully, no?” 

Professor Cialdini blinked rapidly a few times before nodding in agreement. “Fantastic, actually. One of the fastest conjurations I’ve seen. Congratulations, Yuuri.” 

Yuuri stood, dumbfounded, as the class clapped politely - Phichit being the most enthusiastic. 

“Well, I’m sorry to steal him from you, but it’s our anniversary, you see.” Viktor gestured towards the rose with the hand that was currently gripping Yuuri’s. “Dasvidaniya!” 

Viktor tugged gently on Yuuri’s arm as he backed towards the door. 

“Nice to meet you , Mr. Nikiforov.”

“You as well, Professor.”

The door shut behind them and the sound of their slow footsteps echoed in the empty hallway around them until they eventually slowed to a stop when Yuuri figured they were far enough away from the classroom. 

They paused in front of a long set of tall, outward facing windows that allowed sunshine to spill through the openings and ease the stretch of silence between them. 

“Nikiforov?” Yuuri finally asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“It’s Russian,” Viktor said with slight shrug. “Some of my favorite times in your realm were spent in Russia. I think it fits, don’t you?”

Yuuri slowly lifted Viktor’s hand in the air, inspecting it for any signs of the silver substance that had been there just minutes before, and finding not a single trace of anything out of the ordinary. 

“What happened back there?” he whispered, only barely able to process what had happened. Everything had happened so rapidly, he’d only been able to pick up on how excited Viktor had seemed. 

“Ah, well -” Viktor took a step back and spread his arms out as a presentation. “I’m human!” 

Yuuri’s jaw dropped. 

“You’re  _ what?” _

“Human!” Viktor smiled widely. “Now I can stay forever, and you won’t ever have to miss me. A nice twist, don’t you think?”

Yuuri continued staring when he couldn’t find the right words to say. 

Viktor’s arms sagged slightly. “Did I do something wrong? Will I be a burden to you? I don’t want to be a burden -”

“No, no!” Yuuri waved his arms frantically, the vast pedestal of immortality he’d set Viktor on started crashing down around him - and nothing could be more horrifying in the moment.  “No, no, it’s not that at all, it’s - Viktor you just… gave up  _ everything.  _ Did you even think it through? You were immortal! And now you’re so much less than that. You’re breakable.”

Viktor waited patiently with a finger tapping on his chin, the smile never leaving his face as he watched Yuuri fret. 

“I’m many things, but I’m not breakable. And you’re not either, you know.” Viktor folded his arms in front of himself, bringing a sense of finality to the gesture. “I told you that everything ends eventually, didn’t I? It’s time for me to experience something new, Yuuri. I have no regrets.”

Yuuri gripped the rose tightly, the feelings of regret on Viktor’s behalf slowly subsiding  - and, eventually, nodded his head. This was Viktor’s decision to make, and his life to choose. 

If Yuuri were to make a choice like this, only to have Viktor attempt to intercede, wouldn’t that be an unfair assumption of his agency? He couldn’t allow himself to hold onto any guilt from a choice that he didn’t make.

“Are you sure?” Yuuri pressed his lips together, gazing at the floor and knowing that it was too late either way, but he still wanted to hear it. 

“Yuuri.”

Yuuri lifted his head slowly back up. 

“I am thousands of years old, Yuuri Katsuki, and I have never been more sure in my entire long life.” Viktor reached out and rubbed away a single tear that Yuuri hadn’t realized had escaped. “If there was one thing I’ve learned, it’s knowing when it’s time for something to come to an end.” 

After a few moments of just breathing, a smile grew on Yuuri’s face and he held the rose in front of him, closing his eyes and whispering a  few words under his breath. When he opened them again, the rose he held began to twist and bend, more strands of stem twirling around each other and creating new blossoms - until he held a ring of blue roses. 

“Welcome to the world, Viktor Nikiforov.” Yuuri placed the crown of flowers on Viktor’s head, laughing at Viktor’s delighted smile. “It’s not going to be what you’re used to, but I think you’ll like it here.”

Yuuri reached over and intertwined his fingers with Viktor’s. 

“Now, come on. We have an anniversary to celebrate.”

**Author's Note:**

> I would like the thank the Djinn from "Dragon Rider" for being an inspiration.


End file.
